SPECIAL SECTION: Outdoor Plan for Mom’s and Dad’s Day

AS MOTHER’S AND FATHER’S DAYS approach, many will be thinking of the best gifts for their outdoors-loving mothers and fathers.

How about starting them on a slam quest?

There are various slam quests where anglers and hunters pursue numerous species representing a related part of the outdoors world. It’s fun, motivating and can help inspire spending more time in the field.

For saltwater there’s the Inshore Slam, sometimes referred to as the Bay Slam and that is catching a redfish, speckled trout and flounder. Some variations add a black drum to this.

There’s the flats slam which includes a tarpon, permit and bonefish. The Gulf Seatrout slam is the speckled trout, sand trout and Gulf trout.

The Pelagic Slam is the king mackerel, dolphin and wahoo.

A little more exotic slam is the Billfish Grand Slam. It includes the Atlantic blue marlin, Pacific blue marlin, black marlin, white marlin, striped marlin, Atlantic sailfish, Pacific sailfish, swordfish and spearfish. Catching any three of these qualifies as a slam.

On the more elegant side of things is the Western Native Trout Slam.

Trout fishing on beautiful western streams is one of the greatest things a person can experience. By attempting to catch native trout in 12 states anglers can enjoy the adventure of a lifetime.

And while rainbow and brown trout are no doubt the most widely sought species, they are not native to many of the streams they swim. In fact, brown trout are not even native to North America.

Both of these wonderful sportfish have their place but so do a wide variety of native trout.

And that is what the Western Native Trout Challenge is all about.

The Western Native Trout Challenge invites anglers to help celebrate America’s western legacy by catching native trout and char in each of the 12 participating states, at their own pace. By attempting to catch these native trout in 12 states anglers can enjoy the adventure of a lifetime.

For every $25 program registration fee, $23 goes toward helping to conserve these species. In 2020, registration fees and donations supported Westslope Cutthroat Trout in a project called Cottonwood Creek Fish Passage Barrier

Project for Native Trout Security in Montana. You can get more information at www.westernnativetroutchallenge.org.

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On the hunting side of things, is the Grand Slam of turkeys that includes the Rio Grande, Osceola, Eastern and Merriam’s. Add Gould’s turkey to that and you have a World Slam. Get an ocellated turkey on top of that and you qualify for a World Slam.

The most famous slam of all in the hunting world is the Grand Slam of North American sheep which requires taking a Rocky Mountain bighorn, desert bighorn, Dall’s sheep and Stone sheep. This one is extremely difficult and expensive but it is the heart’s desire of many hunters around the country.

A much more affordable slam is the Texas Slam which requires taking exotic sheep. These include the corsican, mouflon, Hawaiian black and Texas Dall. This is an especially fun slam for bowhunters who find stalking exotic sheep a different kind of challenge than standard deer hunting in stands.

The Boars of American Record System (B.O.A.R.S.) has just introduced the Swine Slam which involves taking any three colors of feral hogs (black, brown, white, red, spotted, blonde, gray). For more information go to boarssystem.com. The Super Swine Slam is taking hogs representing five of those colors.

One of the best gifts someone can give us inspiration and these slams are a gateway to inspiration and a whole lot of fun in the woods and on the water.

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—story by AUTHOR

 

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