Whitmer's Manders a skilled outdoorsman

Cory Manders, a junior at Whitmer, shows off his rug from the hide of a 250-pound bear he took. Enlarge

Whitmer High School has more than 2,000 students, with a myriad of accomplishments in academics, athletics, the arts, and community involvement.

But the best guess here is that only one kid in that legion of two grand has taken a 250-pound Canadian black bear with a bow, shot a trophy 12-point buck in southern Ohio, and wrestled a seven-foot-long sailfish up to the boat out on the Atlantic.

Cody Manders, a 17-year-old junior at Whitmer, owns that distinction. His hunting/fishing trifecta would make most adult outdoors enthusiasts prickle with envy.

"I guess I've been pretty lucky that my dad loves doing things in the outdoors, and since I was little, he has taken me along and exposed me to a lot," said Manders.

"Most of the kids at school have never been hunting or deep sea fishing, so they have no idea what it's like. I think they're missing out on a lot."

Cody missed on his first attempt to take a bear last August while on a bow hunt in the wilderness of eastern Ontario, northeast of Sudbury, near the border with Quebec. He got a second chance about a half hour later that same afternoon when another bear moved within about 15 yards of his tree stand.

After steadying himself for a few moments, Manders stuck an arrow in the bear and then did exactly what the manual says to do -- he waited, well aware that chasing after a wounded animal is a recipe for disaster.

"I think I shook for a little while, then I just stayed there until it got dark. No matter how excited I was, I wasn't coming out of that tree stand."

When the guide came out to meet him, the two of them searched a bit in the dense cover, then went back to the site about midnight and located the bear, only about 20 yards from where Manders had shot it.

"I was pretty sure it was a decent-sized bear when I first saw it, but it was bigger than I thought. It took four guys to carry it out of the woods."

A Michigan taxidermist crafted a huge bear rug from the hide, and it was delivered in January.

"I was only 16 at the time, and looking back I don't know if I was completely ready for the challenge of bow hunting for black bear, but I'm glad I got the opportunity," Manders said. "That moment when you are out there alone in the woods and you first see a bear -- it's quite an adrenaline rush."

Last fall, Manders was hunting on private land near Zanesville when he observed a big buck moving across a small valley, pushed towards him by a group of hunters off in the distance.

When the circumstances were just right, he raised his gun and took the 12-pointer with one shot from about 70 yards.

"It was the usual situation -- you first see the deer, your heart starts pounding, and you can't stand still, but you know you have to be steady and make a good shot," he said.

The 12-pointer was his ninth deer. Cody took his first deer in Williams County at age 11 -- a button buck he shot with a bow.

His encounter with the monster sailfish came on a charter trip two summers ago off the coast of North Carolina.

He also fishes for Lake Michigan salmon out of Ludington and Manistee and for walleye on Lake Erie. He has been duck hunting since he was 11.

Manders, who is in the welding program at Whitmer, plans to work at his father Steve's machine shop once he graduates.

He expects the outdoors adventures to continue, and said he wishes more of his classmates were exposed to some of the opportunities he has enjoyed.

"Every kid likes excitement, and there's nothing more exciting than watching a black bear approach you in the woods. There's nothing like fighting a big king salmon, or seeing a nice buck come out of a corn field just as the sun's coming up," he said.

"The things I get to do, out hunting and fishing, it's pure excitement. I'm sure if some of them gave it a try, they'd really enjoy it, too."

Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.