By Matt Browning

Hunter Maase of Cheney was the recipient of the KDWP Call of the Wild award for the month of April.

Maase is a cross-country runner for the Cardinals, but spends most of his time outdoors either hunting or fishing.

“(My father) did a lot of fishing, and upland game hunting, but never to my level,” Maase said. “I guess he was a stepping stone that started my outdoor career.”

Maase said he started Waterfowl hunting when he was 12 years old and considers himself more of that type of hunting that anything else.

“What I enjoy about the outdoors is the fact that you can go to a river with a pole walk all the way up to the mouth and just watch Waterfowl flying around,” Maase said. “You can also admire the beauty of the outdoors. I can go fish the lake in the evening not catch anything and just watch the sunset and that makes it all worth it to me.”

Besides being a bass fisher, which is what Maase most considers himself, he also hunts game in various sizes ranging from rabbits to deer.

“Hunting is more of fall to winter and a little into spring so I hunt then,” Maase said. “And when the fish move into shallower water when it gets warmer I fish all summer.”

After high school Maase is going to get into welding in order to save money to go back to school to become a game warden.