I constantly get questions regarding what I do and what I write about, so I figured that we would take some time to do our first Q & A here on Jake’s Tails, Tales, and Tips. This will more than likely be an annual or biannual post as new questions come around.
1.) How did you come up with the name “Jake’s Tails, Tales, and Tips”?
I wanted a name for my blog that described what I did, all while being unique to the outdoor industry. I originally thought of “Jake’s Tails and Tales”, but it just didn’t flow and didn’t have as much hidden meaning as I wanted it to. At this point, “Tails” referred to the tails of animals that I come across, whether I hunt, fish, or shoot them with a camera. “Tales” referred to the stories that I told, as this was one of my main selling points for my blog – people loved my writing style and is one of the reasons why I started this blog in the first place. This is when I decided to add “Tips”, referring to not only my guidance based on certain outdoor topics, but also in terms of food. In the restaurant industry, a person can buy “tails and tips” from a beef tenderloin, and this was my final determination as to completing my name.
2.) What does your Instagram name “crotalushunter” mean?
I referred to the description of this name in THIS article, but I’ll mention it again. Crotalus is the genus for most rattlesnakes, derived from the Greek word krotalon, which means “rattle” or “castanet”. So yes, my Instagram literally means “rattlesnake hunter”.
3.) How do you have so much money and time to go hunting and fishing so much?
I get this question A LOT. Let me begin by saying that I don’t have a lot of money to go out, but I make it a priority in my life. Instead of going out on the weekends, or instead of spending money on items I don’t need, I go hunting or fishing. With this said, I also don’t treat hunting or fishing trips as large, elaborate events. I bring food and water from my house, I have all of the equipment I need, and that’s it. All I need is gas to get me from point A to B, resulting in a reasonably cheap trip (most of the time). Also, if I don’t want to spend money on gas, I’ll find opportunities near me – my nearest fishing pond is about 4 miles away.
As for the time aspect, I work 4 10 hour days, so that I have 3 days off to do whatever I want. I generally require myself to go hunting and/or fishing at least once out of my 3 days off.
4.) What is your plan with this blog?
My plan with this blog is to have it continue to grow while I share my stories and tips on the outdoor life. I think it would be incredible to become a full time blogger, but that’s not what I’m here for – I sincerely enjoy creating and writing content while I advance my writing skills. So, what’s the plan? I’m not sure what the end game is, but I’m just here for the ride. I will mention that there are already plans in the works to advance the blog and my social media accounts, content wise. Stay tuned.
5.) How do you take such great pictures?
Practice, practice, practice, and more practice. When I first got my camera, I was lost, to say the least. I spent hours learning every function of my camera, and would sit in my living room taking pictures until I figured out how to take a decent quality picture without error, and quickly. I recommend this advice to anyone getting into photography, though taking wildlife pictures adds a whole different level of complexity to the equation. Just don’t give up, practice a lot, and take lots of pictures – if I take 300 pictures in a day, I might use 10, so keep that in mind.
That’s it for volume I of this Q & A. If you have questions you’d like answered for next time, feel free to comment or email me.