Zlotnicki:Remember the sweeping changes voted in by the wildlife commissioners in March - mostly regarding deer hunting, Sunday bow hunting, an extra week of blackpowder season and freedom to use crossbows during archery season, among others?

Zlotnicki:A slow start to the spring pursuits turned around with one hook set last week.

Zlotnicki:Brian Johnson of Raleigh took up competitive air gun shooting nine months ago. He recently shot in his fourth match.

Few things in North Carolina elicit more emotion or are more convoluted than the management of saltwater fishery resources. A veritable Pandora's Box of issues must be addressed on many levels, and the compromises in the end invariably leave some faction dissatisfied with the result.

'Can I go fishing, Daddy?" My oldest daughter's words took me by surprise recently, causing some pangs of guilt as well as feelings of anticipation.

'A place for everything and everything in its place." Mom's adage about organization reared its ugly head recently when I decided to clean out my tackle box, a task only slightly less daunting than cleaning out an attic.

The saying goes that even a blind squirrel can find an acorn now and then, and the lack of vision in that colloquialism often is self-induced, which makes the rare acorn sweeter.

Few things in the hunting world are more fun than hunting rabbits with beagles.

It took awhile for word to get around, but it seems plenty of folks who enjoy hunting deer with hounds ("dog hunters" in the colloquial) were none too pleased with my views on running deer with hounds.

It seems I touched some nerves two weeks ago. The column in question, "Our state needs changes," was from-the-hip personal opinions regarding Sunday hunting (I want it), running deer with dogs ("dog hunting" should be outlawed), catch-and-release fishing (OK, but keeping some for the fryer is just fine) and using crossbows for hunting (it's time to permit it).

All right, it's toe-stepping time. I'm not old enough to be a curmudgeon, I'm too old to be an idealist and I'm just experienced enough to be jaded when it comes to the outdoors.

Greetings from the staff (well, this part of it) of Carolina Outdoors. This year of transition from working for our former monthly magazine Carolina Adventure to producing the weekly Outdoors pages in The News & Observer's Sports section has been a memorable one.