Scene from last year’s jump!

In Wired Outdoors fashion, when we get involved in something we are all in!  So we will be filming this event and we will be taking the plunge with many of our Wired Outdoors fans!  So all you Wired Outdoors fans, band together and we are asking you to join us and have a great time for a great cause as we take the plunge into the Allegheny River in Parker, Pennsylvania.

• Event: 4th Annual Parker Polar Bear Plunge – “Freezin’ For A Reason!”
• When: January 1, 2010
  Registration 11:00am-1:30pm
  Safety meeting, at 1:45pm
  Plunge at 2:00pm
• Where: Parker City Boat Launch (311 North River Avenue, Parker, PA 16049)
• Who: Parker Polar Bear Club
• Why: Benefits Hunt of A Lifetime and Parker Parks and Recreation
• Cost: $10 registration fee (free t-shirt to all participants)

Additional Information:

• $50 prize for “Most Unique Plunging Attire”
• Chinese auction for items donated by local business.
• 50/50 raffle.

While the cost is only $10 a person, we are encouraging folks to go out there and get sponsors and help us raise as much as possible for our kids who we will be sending on their “Hunt of A Lifetime”.  Questions or comments should be directed to Tony Davenport at 724.659.5114 and we look forward to seeing you all very soon!

An all-star lineup featuring Michael Waddell, Lee & Tiffany Lakosky, Stan Potts, Ralph & Vicki Cianciarulo, Mark Menendez, Bob Clouser and many more will present seminars and meet those attending the 2010 Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show.

“Our 2010 lineup of seminar speakers is like a who’s who of hunting and fishing. The amount of experience, knowledge and skill that will be shared with attendees will be huge. If you want to be a better hunter or angler, the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show is a must,” says Chris O’Hara, Event Director, Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show.

Michael Waddell– Appearing February 11-14

Through his Outdoor Channel shows Bone Collectors, Realtree Roadtrips with Michael Waddell, Hunt Masters, and Turkey Call, Waddell has become one of the most popular and entertaining personalities in hunting world. Waddell drives over 20,000 miles each year to hunt, and his real-life experiences make him a favorite on the outdoor show circuit.

“Michael Waddell was a huge success at last year’s show and a valued member of our Whitetail Deer Panel. We are thrilled to have him back at the 2010 Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show. He is just as knowledgeable and entertaining in person as he is on his television shows. He takes the time to personally speak with everyone that comes to the booth to meet him, so the visitors to our Show love him.” says O’Hara.

Michael Waddell will share his deer hunting experiences and tips and tricks during daily seminars during his appearance days, as well as participate on the Whitetail Deer Panel with other deer hunting experts.

Lee & Tiffany Lakosky–Appearing February 6-14

Husband and wife hunters, Lee and Tiffany Lakosky, are best known as stars of Getting’ Close–one of the highest-rated shows in outdoor television–and their newest show, The Crush with Lee & Tiffany.

“What can I say… people just love Lee and Tiffany,” says O’Hara.

In addition to being celebrities, the Lakoskys are very accomplished hunters. They spend countless hours sharpening their hunting skills and actively managing their land for trophy whitetails in eastern Iowa.

Many hunters recognize the couple from the widespread use of many of their trophy photos and magazine articles which have appeared in dozens of high profile publications and catalogs over the past few seasons.

Stan Potts–Appearing February 6-8

In 40 years of hunting, Stan Potts has harvested numerous whitetail bucks with a bow, three of which scored over 200 inches. He also took another 200 incher with a TC muzzleloader.

Potts gives hunting seminars all across North America and has been the subject of many feature magazine articles. His hunting successes have been featured in North American Whitetail magazine and several other media sources. He has appeared in several hunting videos and television shows, including Realtree Outdoors and Hunter’s Specialties Prime Time series. He is a co-host of North American Whitetail Television on the Outdoor Channel. He is also featured on Whitetail Country on ESPN and Hunt Masters on the Outdoor Channel. Pots hunts 100% wild whitetails on public and private property and is well known for his expertise in treestand placement and patterning bigger, mature bucks.

Ralph & Vicki Cianciarulo–Appearing February 6-9

Ralph and Vicki Cianciarulo, of Lanark, Illinois, are co-hosts of the award-winning Archer’s Choice and The Choice television shows.

Vicki Cianciarulo is credited with taking the largest wild white-tailed deer by a female on camera, with her Colorado buck scoring over 200 inches. She also has numerous black bear, caribou, moose, dall sheep, whitetail, mule deer, antelope, a turkey Grand Slam, and many different African species to her credit. Her history includes outfitting and guiding for both bear and deer, serving on conservation boards and editing and producing television shows.

Ralph Cianciarulo is a well-known international bowhunter, a noted videographer, a seminar speaker, and a TV personality for the Outdoor Channel.

“North America’s Favorite Hunting Couple,” the Cianciarulos have worked from the bottom up to earn a reputation that is second to none in the hunting industry.

Bob Clouser– Appearing February 12-13

Clouser’s love of the outdoors, especially fishing, led him into the fishing business. He continues to guide, teach and share his enjoyment with others. He will present casting demonstrations, using visual aids and casting weighted flies and lines, as well as lectures on “Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass” about catching smallmouth from top to bottom using flies and “Fly Fishing Adventures”, about various species that can be caught on fly rod and flies.

Clouser has received numerous awards for his strong conservation work including his induction into the national Fresh Water Fishing Hall of fame as Legendary Angler. In 2000, he was named National Angler of the Year by Fly Rod and Reel Magazine.

Mark Menendez– Appearing February 6-8

There are few bass fishing professionals on the national scene like Mark Menendez, who is currently ranked 17th in the world. On the water, the 44-year-old Paducah, Kentucky angler has spent the past 18 years earning the reputation of a warrior on tour. He finished fifth in the Angler-of-the-Year points, after winning the Lake Dardanelle tournament on the BASS Elite Series in 2009. His career earnings of more than $900,000 along with success in individual tournaments (three wins and 18 top-ten finishes) and season-long point standings are testament to his dedication and skill.

Menendez, who has fished the Bassmaster Tour since 1991, has held the record for the biggest bass, weighing 13-pounds, 9-ounces, ever caught in a bass tournament.

Cost
$32.49 online

Product features

• Patented, precision-engineered, multi-angle flip-over knife clamp
• Sharpening hones on color-coated, finger-grooved safety holders
• One guide rod for each honing stone
• Specially formulated honing oil
• Extra long knife clamp screws
• Custom molded storage/carrying case to hold all system components
• Complete easy-to-follow multi-lingual instructions

Lansky sharpening angles

• 17 degree – A severe angle recommended for razor blades, X-Acto blades, scalpels or similar tools.  Provides an extremely sharp but delicate edge.
• 20 degree – A commonly used angle for higher quality blades and provides an excellent edge for kitchen cutlery and filet knives
• 25 degree – The recommended angle for most knives that need a durable, sharp edge.  Ideal for hunting and outdoor knives
• 30 degree – An outstanding angle for knives that see the heavy use of cutting cardboard, wire or carpets.  Recommended for heavy duty use.

Personal Assessment of product

Until coming across the Lansky Sharpening System, I was never able to put a sharp durable edge on my knives.  I’ve tried whetstones and though I could put a serviceable edge on my knife, it was never truly sharp.  I had friends, and family who were willing to sharpen my knives for me, but I was always bothered by not being able to do it myself.  I came across the Lansky Sharpening System from a co-worker.  He was telling me about his knife sharpening kit and offered to let me try one of my knives on it.  After receiving the kit and a few instructions from my friend, I gave it a shot.  I took the system home that evening and brought my dull hunting knife to a razor sharp edge on my first try.  This was the first time I was able to get a truly sharp edge on my hunting knife.  I was amazed at how easy this system was to use and purchased a Lansky that night.  After receiving my system in the mail, I had all my hunting knives honed and ready for the upcoming hunting season.  The great thing about this sharpening system is that it takes the “art” out of sharpening knives.  Just put your knife in the clamp, decide what angle you want on your blade, attach the rods to the hones, and use the slots built into the clamp to bring you knife to a razor sharp finish.  Though I already had an idea how to use the sharpening kit, the instructions were thorough and easy to follow.

Product Limitations

There are only a couple of things I could mention as “limitations” when using the Lansky Knife Sharpening Systems.  This system is used by running a hone over the knife as the fixed surface, as compared to running a knife over a whetstone as the fixed surface.  A little more care is needed when using the Lansky Sharpening System. The same friend, who introduced me to this kit, also cut himself bad when the hone slipped off the blade and ran his finger into the knife edge.  This is completely avoidable ,and the system is safe to use, but always use care when dealing with knives.  Also when doing large knives (above 6-7 inches) it is recommended to do ½ of the knife at a time.  When trying to sharpen the whole knife at once, the angle changes too much and the rods might not be long enough.  I have done our chef’s kitchen knife ½ at a time, and though it took a little longer, the end result was great.

Recommendation

The Lansky Sharpening System is easy to use and has brought out razor sharp edges on knives I have never been able to get sharp before.  The process of sharpening my knives before owning the Lansky Sharpening System had been frustrating and often times impossible.  After using this system, I believe this product would work great in any outdoorsmen’s home.

I would also like to tell everyone a very special story that happened to us a few days ago at the Clarion County Youth Field Day banquet.  Each year, Randy Culberson of Sportsman Outfitters and one of the organizers of the Clarion County Youth Field Day invites us to the annual event.  Initially I was not going to be able to attend the event due to a scheduled hunt that we were filming.  A phone call from the guide earlier in the week said he wanted to hold off that the birds just weren’t here yet.  So a phone call later and I was off to Clarion County for the banquet.

Our buddy Sawyer – He is WIRED!

Some More Wired Fans!

At the banquet each year, Kyle Schwabenbauer, Co-Host Wired Outdoors, presents the highlight Youth Field Day video to all the guests.  This year, Randy asked if we could also show our Hunt of A Lifetime videos that we did the past year.  Once Kyle was done showing the highlight video I would be showing the Arianna video and Michael Ciarlone clip. (You can see both those videos at the bottom of this story)  Before showing the videos Randy informed me that since we weren’t quite ready to begin our fund raising for this year’s Hunt of A Lifetime kids, he had come up with an idea just hours before.  He purchased a small Christmas tree about three feet high and hung lottery tickets and a couple of gift certificates on the tree for decorations. He informed me that he was going to sell raffle tickets for the tree and donate all the money for our “Hunt Of A Lifetime” kids.  I was very thankful and expressed my gratitude because any money we can raise is always appreciated it, but really didn’t know what to expect.

Amy Shoup from Strattanville, PA won the Hunt of a Lifetime raffle. It was a live Christmas tree filled with lottery tickets, $100 gift cert, $50 savings bond and a Traditions muzzleloader. Congrats Amy!!

After showing the Arianna video and the Michael Ciarlone clips there were a lot of folks who I could tell were really touched by our work.  Shortly after the presentation, I had to get on the road as I had a 4 hour car ride and had to be at the airport the following morning to fly out to Illinois.  About an hour down the road, I get a text from Kyle saying, “An anonymous donor just said they would match any money raised for the Hunt of A Lifetime kids.” About another hour down the road I get a call from Kyle saying, “How much money do you think they just raised for our kids?”, I replied, “I have no idea, maybe $500?”  Kyle said, “Try $3600.00!”  I was floored.  There are not many times in my life where I don’t have something to say, I was truly speechless.  In a year, when the economy is so bad to have folks open their hearts and wallets like that was truly humbling.

Clarion County Sportsmen for Youth raised over $3600 for Hunt of a Lifetime in less than two hours at their banquet. CCSFY President, Eric Black, presents Kyle with the money!! Thanks guys for everything!!!

I have so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and they just keep rolling in.  I would like to thank all the folks from the banquet who purchased tickets, to the anonymous donor, Randy Culberson and all the CCSFY committee members and the list goes on. Thank you again, I can’t say it enough and I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!!

For those who haven’t seen the Arianna video and Michael Ciarlone clip, you can click on the videos below.  They both will make you truly thankful for all you have.