Waterfowl!

I few weeks ago while in Florida, I traveled over to the Venice Rookery in Venice Florida to take a few pictures of the waterfowl. The rookery is locate in the middle of a small lake and both Great Blue Herons and Egrets nest there. I got up at 5:30 am in the morning so that the lighting would be at its best for photos. Here's what I discovered.

An early morning Great Blue Heron returning from the ocean filled with fish and ready to feed its young one.

Hmmm... eat your regurgitated fish!

An Egret coming in for a landing

Two chicks waiting to be fed as a great blue fly's over.

This is a sand hill crane wandering near the rookery and looking for hoppers.

An Osprey.

Remember: Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

Hook-less fishing, save a minnow!

Have you ever reached way back to the edge of the fridge, searching under the frozen peas and corn to pullout that package of frozen trout. You didn't know it, but you just Hillbilly Hand-fished, sort of.

Now, visualize yourself wading waist deep in a river, reaching your hand below the water, into holes and under rocks feeling for fish. This is the exciting, hillbilly hand fishing. This recreational activity is taking the country by storm. I bet you didn't know that you can actually hire a hillbilly hand-fishin guide? Yep, he or she can show you the best location, appropriate technique and dress. Yes, Hillbilly Hand-fishing has technique just like trout fishing, but please, only use a guide certified by the Hillbilly Hand-fishing institute. Think how fun it will be going into Orvis, Cabel's or Bass Pro and shopping for the latest hillbilly handfishin outerwear, overhauls.

Believe it or not, hillbilly handfishin is the only "natural way" to catch fish because there's no bait used, so no animals/worms are harmed, ”The all Natural Caught Fish!” In fact, "Hillbilly Handfishin caught fish", may be coming to a health food store near you. Imagine a trip to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to pick-up some "All Natural Caught Fish" for that important dinner party. Think how impressed your friends will be. They'll likely say that it's the best tasting fish that they have ever eaten.

Here's a few the new bumper stickers: 

Hooks are for cheaters! Hillbilly Hand-Fishing.

Hillbilly hand fish, your worm will love you!

Hillbilly Hand-Fish, THE ONLY NATURAL CAUGHT FISH!!! 

Don't buy no hooked fish! Hillbilly Hand-Fish

Fish naturally, go hook-less, Hillbilly Hand-Fishing

Hand over hook! Hillbilly Hand-Fishing.

Don't just fish, Hillbilly Hand-Fish.

Save a minnow! Hillbilly Hand-Fish.

Oh yeah, for the real adventurer there's "saltwater hillbilly hand-fishing" and to get your blood really pumping, try "shark hillbilly hand fishing " Guaranteed to be fun and you may be able to do it hand-less after a few times! Unfortunately, Hillbilly Hand Fishing is frowned upon by some folks. In fact, it's become so popular, signs are going up everywhere to ban this sport.  

Hillbilly Hand-Fish, THE ONLY NATURAL CAUGHT FISH!!! Be lookin for 'em in a store near you! I hope you enjoyed this post. If you are in need of a beautiful vintage style lake, river or bay decor map, check-out my website leolakes.com. They make a great Gift!!!!! 

Remember: 

Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, or at least put one on your wall! 

Life above and below the bobber!

Okay, I went a little too crazy this time with my fishing cartoons. I try to be original and sometimes I put in a lot of effort into drawing them well and sometimes I do not.  These are in the "not" category because I have been busy, however I think they're still funny. You know, I need to count them because I bet I have over 150, my goal is for 365. Anyway, most of these are new with one up-dated version.  I hope they put a smile on your face, enjoy!

There's so much tongue piercing going on these days, I thought that I would incorporate it into my cartoons. 

I almost didn't put this cartoon on the blog because it may be too edgy, but I thought it was too funny to pass up. There's no question in my mind, that Margret's husband has a fishing disorder. It appears that Margret is doing everything that she can to help. Now ladies, I wouldn't recommend following Margret's path of fish tattoos to help her husband, but it is interesting and funny!  

I call this my minimal cartoon because I put in so little effort in generating it. I guess you could call it stick fishing.

Oh yeah, if you are a lake, river or bay lover, then you might want to paddle over to my website. I paint vintage style maps of lakes, rivers and bays and I hide a tiny mermaid in the waters that folks love to hunt for. Sizes range from 10"x20" to almost 4'x8' and I do custom and personalized maps. They make great gifts, check it out LeoMaps.com

See if you can find the hidden mermaid! LeoMaps.com

Frame your favorite lake, river or bay!

Thieving Pelican

I've been in Florida for the past week enjoying the sunshine and fishing. Here's an interesting story that occurred while on the water. In this picture, Pop, my father-in-law, is cleaning fish when a rowdy pelican steals a fish. Pop chases the pelican with his fillet knife. The pelican, in fear for its life, drops the fish and if you look closely, you can see the dropped fish on the deck. Also, check the crowd of pelicans gathered around. 

Moral of the story, don't steal from Pop! Also, no pelicans were harmed in the making of this story. If you are in need of a beautiful vintage style maps of your favorite lakes, rivers, and bays check-out my web site LeoLakes.com.

Find the hidden mermaid. Click Below!

Most viewed fishing cartoon

I have been drawing fishing cartoons and adding them to my blog for the last few years. Do you want to know the most poplar? Probably not, but I'll tell you anyway, It's the bait kissing cartoon. It has had over 700 views in less than two years. I'm not sure why it's so popular, but maybe it's because some fisherman somewhere has actually got hooked while kissing his bait. All I can say is ouch!   

Remember to get away from the big screen and get on a big stream! 

Hey, if you are a lake, river or bay lover checkout my decor maps at www.LeoMaps.com

Lucy the Water Dog!

This is my dog in front of this Lake Champlain Map. It may look real, but this is not a real dog, it's stuffed. When I was a child, I had a dog named Lucy who loved the water and went on all of our adventures to the Lakes and Rivers. I keep this stuffed dog, also named Lucy the water dog, in my studio to remember all the fun that we had. 

This beautiful map of Lake Champlain is for a customer in Vermont. This decor map is large, 6ft-4in x 3ft-2in. and is gallery wrapped. The map is from a watercolor painting and is printed on canvas with archival inks. After printing, I come back and hand paint areas of the map to high light them, such as the birds etc...

Interestingly, I hide things in the waters. Folks love to search the waters looking for the hidden items. They are tiny, but they certainly make this map a conversational piece. 

One of the neat things that make my maps special, is that you can tell what time of day it is on the map. As shown, If the shadow is on the west side of the birds, then the sun is rising. If the shadow is on the east side of the birds, then the sun is setting.

I use waterfowl that are common for the lake area, such as Canadian Geese, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle etc... These three Canadian Geese appear to float over the map.  I try to name important area's on the lake, especially the islands, points, rivers etc... I added this sail boat to the picture because I thought it would make an interesting photo. Check the colors out of the lake. 

This map is gallery wrapped and the sides are 1-1/2 inches thick. The map actually wraps around the sides of the frame. You will find no road names, county, or state lines on my maps. I have found that folks enjoy traveling the roads with their eyes, while trying to get their bearing. I call this the "Leo Lakes gaze."

If you would love a great map or you know someone who lovers a lake, river or bay, then a treasured map from Leo Maps would make a great gift. Have it custom or personalized! Check-out my website below and remember: "Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream." Paddle over to LeoLakes.com
  

Fishermen, what not to do in bed, never!

You can eat crackers in bed, but never do this!

I've never cleaned my tackle box out in bed, but I can certainly understand the trouble it might get you into. Hope you enjoyed my cartoon.

If you ever need a map of your favorite fishing hole, then check out my website LeoLakes.com. Frame your favorite lake, river, and bay.

Line up boys, it's all you can eat fish!

As you can see, Pop (my father-in-law) has an audience while cleaning fish. These birds act like they are waiting to enter a five star restaurant, called "Pop's Filet," right before it opens. Anyway, Pop has been fishing down in Florida on Lemon Bay. Lucky for him, he has missed the cold hard winter and has been enjoying the 70's while we suffered in the teens. 

What was the catch of the day, Sheep's head, six to be exact. Okay, they don't look like a sheep's head, but if you look at their teeth, then you would think they have sheep teeth. That's why they are called sheep's head. They are great tasting fish, however even with the size of these shown, the meat will only be the size of  two chicken strips after they are filleted.  
.

Check-out that knife that's in Pop's hand. I'm not sure if he is ready to clean fish or have a knife fight with a Great Blue Heron over his catch. Here's the good news, next week I will be on Lemon Bay hopefully catching a few fish. Wish me luck and I will post a few pictures during the trip on the blog. Oh yeah, here's one of my vintage styled maps of Lemon Bay that I personalized and gave to Pop as a gift. That's him in the photos. See more of my maps at LeoMaps.com

"Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, or at least enjoy one on the wall!"