TOJ Staff/Writers

TOJ Staff/Writers
TOJ Staff/Writers
bill_picBill L. Olson, is a third generation Texan and native Houstonian who has hunted and fished over much of the western half of the North American continent, from Mexico to Canada’s Northwest Territories. He is the Founder and Publisher/Editor of Texas Outdoors Journal. In 1996, 1999, 2001-2023 Texas Outdoors Journal was named one of or the top Texas’ outdoor publications in the annual competition amongst other Texas titled magazines held by the Texas Outdoor Writers Association. On May 6, 2023 Texas Outdoors Journal was once again recognized at the Texas Outdoors Writers Association’s 65th Annual Conference and Excellence In Craft competition. In the highly competitive Outdoor Magazine category TOJ was awarded a First Place and Honorary Mention for the two issues submitted. This marks the 25th consecutive year TOJ has been honored. No other Texas titled outdoor magazine can claim a similar period of sustained excellence. (www.texasoutdoorsjournal.com) He hosts the multi-award winning, world-wide weekly syndicated outdoors news/interview format, Texas Outdoor News radio show with his broadcast partner Harold Gunn. For the past 30 years the program has aired weekends on affiliates in Houston, Beaumont, Conroe/Huntsville/Bryan-College Station, Brady/Mason/Hill Country area, Corpus Christi, Victoria, San Antonio, Austin, Uvalde, Lufkin/Nacogdoches/Center, Tyler/Longview, McAllen/Edinburg/Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley, Brady, Comanche/Brownwood, and Lake Charles LA. The show can also be heard worldwide on Stitcher.com, the free internet radio platform for SmartPhones, computers and vehicles, iHeart radio plus archived on Texas Outdoor News’ YouTube Channel and at www.texasoutdoornews.com. Olson is an avid big game hunter with numerous elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, antelope, bear, moose, turkey and various predators to his credit. In 1994 he successfully spotted, tracked and harvested a huge Shiras moose in Colorado that made the prestigious All Time Boone & Crocket Big Game Record Book. At the time of harvest it was the third largest moose ever taken in Colorado. He is also an avid saltwater angler and licensed U. S. Coast Guard Master Captain with a 100 Ton and Towing Endorsements. Growing up near the Texas coast, he spent considerable time honing his skills wading and drift fishing the entire coast for “Texas’ Big Three” – speckled trout, redfish and flounder. He pursues big game fish in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, Pacific and Caribbean Oceans. In March 2006 he joined the TV broadcast team on FOX Sports Outdoors - Southwest. Each week for 39 weeks per year Olson’s “On the Coast” updates viewers as to where the hottest action is occurring, both inshore and offshore, along Texas’ Gulf Coast. He completed his 14th season in 2018. Olson is a staunch supporter of many conservation groups. From 1989-1995 he served on the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation National Board of Directors during that non-profit’s early formative years. Utilizing his extensive real estate and marketing background, Olson headed the Lands & Conservation Committee where he played an instrumental role in many of the habitat acquisitions during his term. He and his late wife Ann, founded and chaired the Houston RMEF Chapter 1988-1992. This chapter has perennially been one of the top fundraisers in all of North America for RMEF. At its 2012 Silver Anniversary Big Game Banquet Houston became one of the first 10 RMEF Chapters, out of 550 nationally, to surpass two million net dollars raised for elk and other wildlife. Houston surpassed three million net dollars raised in 2018. In March 2009, at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Silver Anniversary 25th Annual Elk Camp and Expo in Fort Worth, Olson was once again elected to serve on the RMEF National Board. He completed his most recent term in February 2012. In 2023 RMEF boasts over 230,000 members. In March 1995, Olson received a State appointment to the Board for “Texas’ Operation Game Thief” from Texas Parks & Wildlife Executive Director, Andrew Sansom. During his six years term he was responsible for increasing public awareness of this anti-poaching organization by both consumptive and non-consumptive users of the outdoors. Throughout each year he presents numerous seminars on a variety of hunting and fishing activities as well as conservation topics. He also serves as the MC at a number of outdoor shows and fundraising events plus does voice-over work for several companies.
Danno WiseA native Texan, Danno Wise has spent a lifetime fishing both fresh and saltwater across Texas and the Southeastern United States. Over the years, he has spent time on the water in every bay system and most every major reservoir in the Lone Star State, as well as various smaller bodies of water. In 1994 Wise relocated from the Upper Texas Coast to the Lower Texas Coast. Since then, he has spent time guiding anglers on the Lower Laguna Madre, as well as working as an outdoor writer, artist, and photographer.
Bob ZaiglinBob Zaiglin serves as Department Chair and coordinator of the wildlife management program at Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde, Texas. He is also the owner of Zaiglin’s Wildlife Resource Management, a highly successful consulting firm for discriminating land stewards. As a private lands wildlife biologist over the last 31 years, he has implemented management programs on more than one million acres in Texas. Zaiglin is one of the most recognized and respected whitetail deer biologists in Texas. A certified wildlife biologist, he holds a B.S. in Wildlife Science and an M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management. His management programs have been recognized as some of the most successful in the country.
Matt_WilliamsMatt Williams is a 52-year old freelance writer based in Nacogdoches, Texas. Williams is a 1986 graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, where he majored in bass fishing/deer hunting and minored in photo/journalism. “Journalism and photography were about the only things I could pass without studying and forfeiting all that valuable time on the water and in the woods,” joked Williams. “Luckily, I’ve been able to make a decent living writing about the passions my parents instilled in me at birth.” Williams began his career as a sport/outdoors editor for a small East Texas newspaper before becoming a full time freelance writer/photographer in 1990. In addition to his works in Texas Outdoors Journal, Williams has a syndicated column that appears weekly in nine newspapers across eastern Texas. He also is a regular contributor to a number of national and regional magazine publications. Williams was named 2004 Outdoor Writer of the Year by the Texas State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. He is married to his best friend, Jan, and has two daughters — Kim, and Taylor
Kerry O'DayKerry O’Day started shooting competitively with a handgun and shotgun in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. He began a custom gunsmithing and handloading business, MG Arms, in 1981 to support his habit of “shooting and hunting too much.” “I have always said that gun powder has taken me around the world,” he stated. “I have been lucky enough to have hunted 5 continents and to have taken more than 60 different trophy animals.” An avid handgun hunter, O’Day has shot most of his African animals with a 500 Linebaugh revolver; this includes the #2 Cape buffalo and the #1 Springbuck. He has harvested more than 10 animals that are in the top 10 of the Safari Club International Record Book. O’Day is TEXAS OUTDOORS JOURNAL’s shooting editor, and also writes for several hunting magazines, as well as scripts for the American Huntress television show. His wife, Carol, and both of their children are all avid hunters
Harold GunnHarold Gunn has over 50 years experience as a writer, producer and host of radio and television interview and entertainment programs. He has written, produced, and been a spokesman in thousands of commercials. Gunn has produced programming regionally, nationally, and for syndication. He is familiar to companies around the world through his years of appearing on the highly successful “Safety Shorts” videos. Currently he is producer/co-host of the syndicated Texas Outdoor News and The Automotive Reporter radio programs. Gunn is a fifth generation Texas rancher and a recognized firearms expert with a lifetime of hunting experience from Alaska to Africa, as well as competitive shooting in a variety of disciplines. He is a member of the Texas Outdoor Writers Association, Southeast Outdoor Press Association, the Outdoor Writers Association of America, and is a three term past President of the Texas Auto Writers Association. His many articles have appeared in such magazines as Texas Outdoors Journal, GUNS, GunWeek, and SHOT Business. In addition to many awards for journalism he has been named a Broadcast Pioneer by the Texas Association of Broadcasters and has been inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
Brian_HughesBrian Hughes was born and raised in Texas.  He has been a largemouth bass guide in the Lone Star State for nearly 30 thirty years. When not fishing he can be found hunting, shooting or otherwise engaging in the manly art of life as a "professional small boy". With a perfect face for radio he hosts the largest live fishing and outdoor radio program known to man. The Texas Fishing and Outdoors Show is heard on the Texas State Network. For the past several years Brian has also been the Texas on-camera freshwater fishing reporter for the Southwest Outdoor Report, now known as Fox Sports Outdoors. His “Lone Star Lakes” is heard each week from mid-March through mid-December. Using the resources developed from a lifetime in the fishing industry, Brian joined the TEXAS OUTDOORS JOURNAL team in the fall of 2012. Each month he provides timely forecast information for anglers that fish the lakes in North Texas, and periodically contributes a “Just Fishing” column with proven techniques on how to catch large and smallmouth bass, plus a variety of other freshwater species.
John Jefferson John Jefferson John Jefferson switched professions in 1971, oblivious that leaving a law practice for a career of writing about hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing and the outdoors carried with it an unspoken oath of poverty. Through lean years and low pay – if any at all – he slowly carved a niche, found a writer’s voice and how to visualize art through a camera’s viewfinder. He has lost count of published articles that number around a thousand, and magazine cover images that total around 75. His first published article was on fishing the Guadalupe River. He has authored two books and wrote the first hunting article ever to appear in Texas Monthly. He publishes the OPEN SEASON newsletter, edits the Texas Parks & Wildlife Outdoor Annual, has been published in Outdoor Life and Field & Stream and writes articles for most regional publications. Three of his articles have been awarded first place in Pinnacle Competition by the Professional Outdoor Media Assn. John Jefferson, or “JJ” as he is affectionately known, has been the Central Texas Lakes and Streams columnist for Texas Outdoors Journal since July, 1994 – by his own admission the longest he’s ever held a job. He lives with his wife, Vicky, on the outskirts of Austin, Texas near Lake Travis, and has been in training directed by three Labrador retrievers and one English coon hound named “Whoop!”.
Tom Claycomb III Tom Claycomb III Tom was born in Tyler and raised in Sherman, Texas where he hunted, fished and rodeoed over a majority of the Lone Star State. He has been an outdoorsman all of his life. For the last 17 years he has been an outdoor writer. His by-line appears in numerous magazines, on websites and has outdoor columns in newspapers in multiple states. This results in him having over 325 articles published per year. Tom also presents 40 to 60 seminars on a variety of hunting and outdoor topics a year from Alaska to Texas. He is on pro-staff with a number of hunting and outdoor related companies. Tom commented that he has taken numerous world record animals during his lifetime — unfortunately a few years before they achieved that status.