Comfort is a wonderful feeling. We as human beings often become stuck in ruts because of this. We don't expend the effort to explore new places or try different things. We travel the same roads, hunt and fish the same spots and camp in the same areas year after year, because of the comfort factor.

I have talked with numerous people during the past decade. The majority have quit going trout fishing because their favorite fishing spots have become over-crowded. I agree. There is nothing more frustrating than driving to an anticipated destination and not being able to find a spot to pull off the road.

You can quit doing something that you enjoy or you can make the effort to find areas that receive little fishing pressure. Plenty of these places exist (even on a warm Saturday afternoon), if you do a little walking. Humans are also lazy by nature; you will be amazed at the fishing opportunities that can be found, twenty minutes away from the nearest parking area.

If you try to fish some of the less popular streams, you will find most of them unpopulated by fishermen, about three days after the fish truck leaves. These monthly and bi-weekly stocked waters are good places to beat the crowding problem. Travelling to one of the walk-in areas is always a good bet. The railroad grade section of the West Fork of Greenbrier is my favorite. Sections of the Buckhannon River, Left Fork of Buckhannon and upper Shavers Fork are stocked by railroad. The upper section of the Cranberry River is walk-in only and worth a try for a quality outing. If you are not afraid to walk and explore, you will be rewarded. If you so choose, you can continue to drive to lower Shavers Fork at Bowden or lower Glady Fork and be frustrated with the results. Eventually, you will quit going at all and give up another thing that you enjoy doing.

Here is some advice for the turkey hunters. When you go to your favorite spot, you park at the same spot and walk into the area using the same route. So does everyone else that hunts there. Try going into the area from the opposite side and see if your success doesn't improve. Turkeys get used to the same old routine, very quickly. When you go out for your pre-season scouting, leave your callers at home. Go out and observe sign and leave the woods as undisturbed as it was before you got there.

The final new thing I would like to go over this month is ebird.org. This is, in my opinion, the greatest tool for those interested in birds. It is an on-line database of bird sightings, covering North and South America. It is administered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and data is updated daily. You can start a life-list and regularly submit sightings of bird species for your locality. Best of all, it is free. Just go to ebird.org and get started.

Expand your horizons, start something new and do not get stuck in the rut.