If you have never downed a record book buck or bear, hooked a trophy fish or shot a limit of ducks, you are not alone.

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It's more probable that you are in a group made up of the majority of sportsmen, including this writer and others like me. Don't be intimidated by all the successful hunting and fishing trips depicted on TV nearly everyday.

Remember, you are watching TV where virtually nothing is real.

Today's so-called outdoor TV shows are beginning to take on the trappings of NASCAR.

Participants and their beautiful wives and children are coiffed in perfectly fitting clothes, hats and boots.

While all are sewn from camouflage patterns, they are always wearing just the right shade and pattern for the area they are hunting.

Generally the manufacturers name is emblazoned on a hat, pocket or somewhere else visible to the camera.

Most of the time, the stars are successful and give the credit to the clothes and other gear, which consist of hard-working guides and outfitters who are happy to have their services and facilities depicted on the tube.

As a result, the price of poker has gone up markedly.

Several years ago, one could go on a guided whitetail hunt in Alberta or Manitoba Canada for a reasonable rate, under $1,000.

Even that was stiff for many hunters I know.

"A thousand bucks for a set of big whitetail horns is a lot of money. I can do a lot of hunting here in Michigan for that kind of money," was often a common refrain from local hunters.

Cable TV and its hunting shows depicting the taking of huge whitetail bucks in Canada have changed things.

Despite some great hunting here in Michigan, guys are forking out nearly $5,000 for guided Canadian whitetail hunts plus extra money in trophy fees.

If you knew nothing about the outdoors but watched one of the myriad of outdoor shows presented on cable TV today, you would get the impression that killing a monster buck, trophy bear or catching big fish is simple and easy.

After all, they even show 8-year-old kids knocking down big game with both archery gear and firearms, while dad and grandpa look on.

Nothing to it. Just plop your butt down in the woods and the parade of trophy animals begins.

All you have to do is decide if the animal in front of you is bigger than anything you have previously taken. If so, "bingo" a perfect shot at 200 yards with a gun or 40 yards with a bow dispatches the critter humanely.

The same scenario occurs with the many video tapes for sale, under the guise of learning how to hunt like a professional.

Only the tapes and shows don't often tell you that the animals shown may be taken under controlled conditions, either fenced-in or on ranches which are managed expressly for that animal.

Many hunting shows claim fair-chase, but what does that mean when the hunt is being conducted on huge tracts of private land not available to the general public?

Like I say, "If you've got enough bucks in your pocket, you can always get the bucks out in the woods somewhere."

Hunting videos sell faster than written material about the same sport.

Viewing a number of these has made me suspect as to the validity of the information.

The hunting aspect of big game is tough even when one is alone and unburdened with cameras and extra gear. The use of set-ups or drugged animals in fenced enclosures makes the process a lot easier, if not quite the truth.

I knew an individual who worked for several years as a cameraman at one of the largest hunting video producers. Some of the footage was incredible.

Years later, he still refuses to talk about how and where those videos were taken.

Years ago, sportsmen used to be starved for TV shows that featured hunting or fishing.

Here in Michigan, the first TV show featuring the outdoors I remember was "Woods And Waters" with one of the local newspaper outdoor writers, Jack Van Covering as the host.

Van Covering traveled northern Michigan filming stories about successful or unusual hunting and fishing experiences of other Michiganders. Seldom if ever did this show actually broadcast a film with a big game kill scene.

Pheasant, ducks and grouse were taken on camera yes, but no deer or bear. Usually all you got to see were the hunt results with the trophy animal being displayed by a happy and generally lucky hunter.

We still call these "grip and grin" photos today.

To a kid like me, the show was a bit boring and filled with too much talking.

The outdoor show that most baby boomers and older remember and compare to today's video stuff is the Michigan Outdoors Show broadcast from the 1960s to the 1980s with Mort Neff as the host.

For some reason, Mort never seemed to age. He was a classy guy that made good money on TV as his show was heavily sponsored and came on during prime time, every Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

He owned a small aircraft and built a unique home along a cliff on Lake Michigan. A cable car was the only way in and out.

Neff narrated his movie segments, shot with a 16 mm camera mounted on a gunstock in order to steady the camera and make it easier to follow running or flying animals.

His speaking ability was near that of a veteran English professor, smooth, correct and descriptive. It was the way English had been taught for the last few centuries.

He never used slang and was a true celebrity here in Michigan and northern Ohio.

Too bad his persona and show have never been duplicated.

Remember, do not take anything on TV too seriously. Go out into the woods and lakes to enjoy their pure beauty.

If you get that big buck you were after or that huge wall mount fish that has eluded you all these years, so much the better. If not, don't quit trying, that is what fishing and hunting are all about.

Fish the Narrows
Fish Lake Manitoba Narrows
www.fishlakemanitobanarrows.com