It's another beautiful day in the neighborhood. I'm still at the cabin and my gray deer hunting beard is really starting to itch. I guess by rule, I could shave it considering I got a deer. Speaking of getting a deer, I drop mine off at Grant Riggs. Grant is a long time acquaintance up here in the Great Northwest Corner. He works for the Fischer's at the Dublin General Store .
I have known Grant since my days as a member of the Bass Lake softball team. Grant is a big guy, and to say he had a home run swing would be under promoting his hitting ability. When he hit one out, there was never any doubt that it would reach the next county! Whenever I'm at Dublin General Store, and he's working, we chat. His boys are now heavily involved in baseball, and are on a traveling squad that has been doing very well. It keeps Grant and his wife pretty busy, because most of the tournaments they enter are down state.
Grant doesn't advertise that he cuts deer, just word of mouth brings him all the business he wants. When I dropped my deer off he had three skinned and hanging in his butcher shop that he was working on. We walked out to his cooler and he showed me some of the big ones he had in there. Some very nice deer. I tried to take a picture, but my dang battery had went dead. Drats! Oh well, I'll take a couple when I pick it up tomorrow.
This morning, Ricky Skinner Jr. sent me a text with a picture attached from his iPhone. He shot a nice six point back by the big lake on his property yesterday morning. Congrats Ricky!
Ricky's 2011 Six Point Buck
After I got my deer Friday morning, I took Friday night and Saturday morning off. I went back out to the No. 3 blind Saturday night. Before I left for the blind though, I sat around with the guys at Rick's. It was Doug Budzinski's birthday. I think he said he was 48 or was it 58? In any case the group toasted Doug a time or two and hopefully that brings him many more years of health and prosperity. Here's a picture of the group. Doug is the old guy in the corner by the hutch.
Happy Birthday Doug!
Rick stays pretty busy at deer season. He has a number of guys up. His two brothers, his son and daughter, grandsons, long time family friends, and a few tag alongs like me. I thoroughly enjoy having the opportunity to join his group and look forward to it every year. He's a good friend, and I enjoy the company.
Just part of the Skinner parking lot in November.
I sat once again in No. 3 and had a couple of does come by. Both were pretty good size, and I could have taken them easily. They moved past the blind at a distance of no more than 25 yards. I do have three doe permits, but it's early yet and I have the seven pointer hanging.
This doe walked out and at one point was maybe 15 yards away.
I thought about taking the deer, but decided to pass.
Several times she caught my scent and went on full alert.
This doe stood almost where I shot my seven point.
When I shot my buck, it stood back in the light colored grass.
While I was sitting, I heard a shot from back in the direction of where Dan Campbell, a Skinner Clan adoptee, was hunting. When I got back in, sure enough, I heard the four wheeler coming back from where he had been sitting. He had taken a spike as it walked across a power line that runs north and south across the front of the property. Nice job Dan!
Dan's 2011 Spike shot along the power line at the Skinner Compound
Unloading the Spikemaster's buck.
Shortly after Dan's deer had been dropped off, Rick's grandson Wes drove in from the far western part of the property. He had been hunting the 160 piece that Rick, he, and I hunted the first two days. He had taken a very nice doe. It was, in fact, one of the biggest does the boys have seen shot in quite a while. He dropped her in her tracks, with a well placed shot, at over 200 yards.
Wes Skinner's big doe
With a little help from Matt Hosmer the doe is unloaded at the pole barn.
Part of deer hunting is all the camaraderie that comes out of good friends getting together. Hearing each others stories is always high on the list. After the morning or evening hunts, there is a lot of debriefing that goes on, even if no one takes a deer. If they do, then the group often goes out to help track and or bring the animal back.
The debriefing session after the evening hunt.
This blog entry, although started on the 21st, has now meandered its way through time and I'm now trying to complete it on the 23rd. It's 23 degrees out this morning. There is a little skim of ice around the edge of the little bay on the lake by the cabin. I didn't go out this morning because we have a full plate today. We have to pack up to go home to get ready for Thanksgiving. We do plan to come back up as soon as we can though.
I did hunt last night, but I didn't see anything. Rick got out to his blind late because he fell asleep as he sat in his wife's hospital room visiting her. She had a knew replacement on Monday. So far, all is going well for her. We plan to stop and see her on our way home. Even though Rick got out late, he saw three deer, but decided to pass on the shot.
After I hunted last night, I went and picked up my deer meat. I had it ground in to burger. I did have them save the tenderloins though. I'm going to have the head done in what they call, a "European Mount." That's where they have just the skull and the horns. I'm also going to put it on a plaque and have a tag made calling it the "Hector Buck." By all rights, it should have been his deer. If he would have just sat in the blind one more time instead of moving on his last night of Michigan hunting.
This morning I did some surfing of the net as I sat drinking coffee and looking out the window for critters. I read where the show Joe Thomas airs, Ultimate Match Fishing , which is on the Outdoor Channel on Fridays at 7:00 and 10:00 p.m., did this seasons contest on Mullet Lake up in northern Michigan. I haven't seen any of the episodes yet, but plan to set a reminder on my phone, so that I can remember to tune in.
If you haven't heard by now, B.A.S.S. announced that the 2013 Classic is going to be held on Grand Lake, in Oklahoma. Here's what KVD has to say about it: 2013 Classic should be Grand in many ways.
One other article that I ran across was one that Bass Fan did. It was kind of fun to read because it was about the Most Memorable Fish of 2011 . What was your most memorable fish of 2011?
Well, I have to get going this morning. My son and his wife are flying in for the holiday and we are super excited to see them. I may have time for a Holiday blog, but we'll see. Take care and enjoy the holiday. It's suppose to be great weather. Not suppose to get below freezing through next week Tuesday. I wonder what the temperatures are down in South Texas? Maybe Hector will shoot me an email and let me know. By the way, I plan to stop today and take some pictures of the Cementman's 2009 pickup camper. It's a really nice one. It even has an awning. I think he's asking $7K for it. If you are at all interested, this is a good deal. He's had it since it was new, and it really hasn't been used much. I've been in it and it's nice!
November 17, 2011
It's been a week since the last blog post, but it's deer season in Michigan's Great Northwest Corner, so a lot of excuses get made in order to spend time chasing whitetails. Even the schools up in this area close for opening day. So a week of no blog can be blamed on deer fever.
Not only have I been in the deer woods, but I have been chaperoning my brother-in-law Charles and his close friend Hector. Charlie is from Northern Alabama and Hector is an hour north of Corpus Christi in South Texas.
The two of them met on a mountain out in Colorado and became fast friends. They have a lot of fun together, but they do need a chaperone. Do you know how much a bottle of Patron is? So, the next few paragraphs are going to be a summary of Charlie and Hector's Michigan Adventure.
As I said, Hector is from South Texas and has never been to Michigan before. He's been to 42 of the fifty states and has hunted and fished all over the United States, Mexico, and South America. He loves to hunt and fish, and living in Texas close to the coast, he has many opportunities to pursue his passions right out his back door.
Hector has grown up in South Texas, and when he was old enough to begin his career got a job with Exxon. I didn't know it, but Exxon has a big gas plant on the King Ranch . You probably have watched a number of hunting shows that have hunters harvesting big bucks on the King Ranch. Well, Hector worked there for 20+ years.
Charles is my wife's oldest sister's husband, and is one heck of a good guy. (Don't tell him I said that though, because I spend a lot of time giving him a hard time.) Rick, "The Cementman" Skinner and I have been staying down with Paula and Charlie during our Marshaling trips the last three years. Needless to say they treat us pretty good, and to reciprocate some, Rick has invited Charlie up to hunt on the property he manages. This year Charlie talked Hector in to coming up with him and the two arrived Saturday night.
Sunday, we had to take Hector around and show him some of the sites. We went in to Manistee and drove to the city beach to see the piers and Lake Michigan. Once there, we got out to take some pictures. When we went over the small dune we could see the beach was lined with poles and four guys were surf fishing for steelhead. I wasn't aware that they did that this time of year. Curious, we walked down to watch and talk to the guys.
They already had about seven big steelies on two stringers. You can catch three a piece we found out. They had long limber rods with spinning reels loaded with eight pound test line. At the end of each, they had about an ounce weight. Ahead of the lead they had a leader tied to a swivel. The leader was about four feet long, with a split shot halfway down, with a number two circle hook, (drop-shot hook) that they spear a spawn bag with.
They cast the set up out and then place the rod butt in a piece of PVC pipe that they zip tie to a long piece of re-rod. It looked like a lot of fun and is something that I will certainly be trying soon. Here is a short video of one of the guys catching his first steelhead.
November Steelie fishing off the city beach in Manistee.
It was a blustery day and cold. The wind was out of the south, so the stub pier you see off to the left, kept the beach area protected. Here are some more pictures from the beach at Manistee.
After leaving the beach, we drove a short ways to visit the Little River Casino . We donated to the Little River Band's college fund and had dinner there. We weren't there a long time though because we had places to go and people to see.
My son Nate was up for deer camp and my brother Butch stopped for a few days as well. The more the merrier when it comes to deer camp. I know the Cementman has quite a crew at his place every year. Campers and trailers are in his yard and every bed and couch has a whitetail hopeful in it.
We left the casino and Hector, who had took a liking to my deer hunting hat that I got for my birthday last year at the Na-Tah-Ka , wanted to go there and see if they had more. At least that's what he told me. He may have had an ulterior motive.
We ended up spending several hours at the Na-Tah-Ka. We had a few of what Hector called, the Texas state drink, and played several games of pool. Charlie didn't tell us he was bringing the Texas state billiards champion. Hector won every game, but it was great fun and we had a super time. When we were about to leave and pay the bill, Hector said that he would leave his $15 lottery scratch off winner as part of the tip. After we got back to the cabin though, he noticed that he gave Chanel, our waitress, the wrong ticket and brought the $15 ticket home. Sorry Chanel, it was an honest mistake.
We left the Na-Tah-Ka and headed back to the cabin where we introduced Hector to some new poker games. He hadn't played Hi Low games and kept calling them those darn four wheel drive games. He held his own though and taught us a new game as well. He called it "Mexican sweat." We had to watch the hour that night because Charlie had insisted we get up at 4:00 a.m. the next morning so we wouldn't be late for a charter we had booked on the Big Manistee River with my old Tear Drop buddy Jason Frolenko of Strike Zone Charters . We had to meet Jason in Wellston at 7:00 a.m., and I told Charlie 4:00 would be a tad early, but both Hector and Charlie are early risers and 4:00 a.m. became our new wake up time. I can do that, but as a retiree, I'm use to sleeping in a tad bit longer. Especially after playing cards til after midnight!
We met Jason at the Wellston Hardware/Gas Station. He was getting his propane tank filled. We were going to be fishing in comfort despite the chilly November temperatures. Jason's river boat has a cabin on it with two propane heaters and comfortable seating. You can sit outside and we did. We moved in and out during the day as we waited for our turn for the next hook up.
We launched from "High Bridge" and Jason jetted us up river toward Tippy Dam. We went up about halfway to the dam.
Jason was setting five rods across the back of the boat, which he stuck in rod holders. We trolled Storm Hot N Tots in a variety of colors. It was just breaking dawn as Jason was setting rod two of five when rod one doubled over. Hector drove the furthest and had top honors so he took the rod and the battle was on. These are strong and powerful fish and they don't give up and come for a boat ride easily. Hector's fish was up out of the water a number of times and went from bank to bank during the fight. He worked it to the side of the boat where Jason was ready with the net. In the boat it came, a beautiful Manistee River Steelhead. Most steelies represent the name well and are bright and shiny silver. This fish, according to Jason, was a rare catch because of its coloration. It had a double rainbow. Steelhead , are a lake or ocean run rainbow trout, and get much larger than the ones people catch that live there lives in streams. This fish that Hector caught was gorgeous. It truly was a trophy and would have made a spectacular wall mount.
Once we had motored up the river using Jason's 105 horse Johnson with a jet drive, (Jason said he could run the river as long as he had 3 inches of water.) we began floating back down the river fishing all the holes that Jason knew by heart. He had a remote control that he use to maneuver the electric trolling motor, and motorized anchor. Using the two in combination, Jason could maneuver from side to side, and around brush and snags, to cover the river with the crankbait spread. We were all amazed at how well he did this. In eight hours, he only snagged the bottom once. If you saw how many logs and tree limbs that were in the water, you really wouldn't believe that was possible.
I wasn't able to get any video of any of the guys landing their fish. With the way those steelies fight, I didn't want to get in the way as Jason stood at the rail ready with the net. I did get a video of us as we ran the river though. It was a fun ride in and of itself!
The beach with a view of the North Pier
Looking down the beach at the stub pier to the south.
The guys fishing the surf had two stringers of Steelhead and had only been fishing a few hours!
You can get a good feel for the set up they had along the beach from this shot.
Nathan and Charlie inspecting the rigs they were using.
After leaving the beach, we drove a short ways to visit the Little River Casino . We donated to the Little River Band's college fund and had dinner there. We weren't there a long time though because we had places to go and people to see.
Nate, Charlie, Hector and Butchie Boy
My son Nate was up for deer camp and my brother Butch stopped for a few days as well. The more the merrier when it comes to deer camp. I know the Cementman has quite a crew at his place every year. Campers and trailers are in his yard and every bed and couch has a whitetail hopeful in it.
We left the casino and Hector, who had took a liking to my deer hunting hat that I got for my birthday last year at the Na-Tah-Ka , wanted to go there and see if they had more. At least that's what he told me. He may have had an ulterior motive.
We ended up spending several hours at the Na-Tah-Ka. We had a few of what Hector called, the Texas state drink, and played several games of pool. Charlie didn't tell us he was bringing the Texas state billiards champion. Hector won every game, but it was great fun and we had a super time. When we were about to leave and pay the bill, Hector said that he would leave his $15 lottery scratch off winner as part of the tip. After we got back to the cabin though, he noticed that he gave Chanel, our waitress, the wrong ticket and brought the $15 ticket home. Sorry Chanel, it was an honest mistake.
Our Deer Camp field trip to the Na-Tah-Ka
We left the Na-Tah-Ka and headed back to the cabin where we introduced Hector to some new poker games. He hadn't played Hi Low games and kept calling them those darn four wheel drive games. He held his own though and taught us a new game as well. He called it "Mexican sweat." We had to watch the hour that night because Charlie had insisted we get up at 4:00 a.m. the next morning so we wouldn't be late for a charter we had booked on the Big Manistee River with my old Tear Drop buddy Jason Frolenko of Strike Zone Charters . We had to meet Jason in Wellston at 7:00 a.m., and I told Charlie 4:00 would be a tad early, but both Hector and Charlie are early risers and 4:00 a.m. became our new wake up time. I can do that, but as a retiree, I'm use to sleeping in a tad bit longer. Especially after playing cards til after midnight!
We met Jason at the Wellston Hardware/Gas Station. He was getting his propane tank filled. We were going to be fishing in comfort despite the chilly November temperatures. Jason's river boat has a cabin on it with two propane heaters and comfortable seating. You can sit outside and we did. We moved in and out during the day as we waited for our turn for the next hook up.
We launched from "High Bridge" and Jason jetted us up river toward Tippy Dam. We went up about halfway to the dam.
Jason readying the Sea Ark at High Bridge
Jason was setting five rods across the back of the boat, which he stuck in rod holders. We trolled Storm Hot N Tots in a variety of colors. It was just breaking dawn as Jason was setting rod two of five when rod one doubled over. Hector drove the furthest and had top honors so he took the rod and the battle was on. These are strong and powerful fish and they don't give up and come for a boat ride easily. Hector's fish was up out of the water a number of times and went from bank to bank during the fight. He worked it to the side of the boat where Jason was ready with the net. In the boat it came, a beautiful Manistee River Steelhead. Most steelies represent the name well and are bright and shiny silver. This fish, according to Jason, was a rare catch because of its coloration. It had a double rainbow. Steelhead , are a lake or ocean run rainbow trout, and get much larger than the ones people catch that live there lives in streams. This fish that Hector caught was gorgeous. It truly was a trophy and would have made a spectacular wall mount.
Hector hooked up with a giant steelhead.
After a long battle it's in the net!
One proud Texan with a trophy Michigan steelhead!
Here's a look at the spread Jason used.
One of the four times that Charlie was hooked up. All you got to do is turn the handle. If only it were that easy to bring these tough fighters in.
This is how it's done Alabama style!
Nice fish Mr. Long!
Once we had motored up the river using Jason's 105 horse Johnson with a jet drive, (Jason said he could run the river as long as he had 3 inches of water.) we began floating back down the river fishing all the holes that Jason knew by heart. He had a remote control that he use to maneuver the electric trolling motor, and motorized anchor. Using the two in combination, Jason could maneuver from side to side, and around brush and snags, to cover the river with the crankbait spread. We were all amazed at how well he did this. In eight hours, he only snagged the bottom once. If you saw how many logs and tree limbs that were in the water, you really wouldn't believe that was possible.
Captain Jason Frolenko of Strike Zone Charters
A view of the bow out the front windshield.
Jason primarily relies on Hot N Tots and an occasional flatfish. He does use spawn later in the season, or when clients request to cast it.
Charlie and Hector waiting for the next hook up.
Once while Charlie and Hector were eating, I was able to reel one in.
Filets at the end of the day! Thanks Jason!
I wasn't able to get any video of any of the guys landing their fish. With the way those steelies fight, I didn't want to get in the way as Jason stood at the rail ready with the net. I did get a video of us as we ran the river though. It was a fun ride in and of itself!
Jetting the Big Manistee with Captain Jay
Our charter with Jason was fantastic. We really had a good time and will be planning another outing next year when the boys again make their way up from the south. If you're looking for a fish of a lifetime, you have a great chance with Jason on the Big Manistee. You can contact him at Strike Zone Charters . Just click on the preceding link or you can access his webpage from the main page of my website by clicking on "Interesting Sites."
It's been taking me a while to get this blog finally finished. I even had to forgo hunting this morning in order to get it finished. While I have been typing, I take breaks to look out the windows to watch for critters. A couple of days ago, I got a picture of this red fox as he made his rounds along the lake.
With our fishing trip locked in to our memory banks, the quest changed toward whitetail hunting with Rick "The Cementman" Skinner. That required rising at 4:00 a.m. every morning and hunting most of the day and walking back in in the dark. Long days on stand, with little sleep, trying not to check out the back of your eyelids and miss your few seconds that you get when a deer comes by.
The Skinner Clan have an almost 3,000 acre parcel that they have access to, and they have been hunting the land for probably 50+ years. Rick's Uncle came over from the Flint area years ago and built a ski lodge that he owned and operated for a number of years. Bus loads of skiers use to come from as far away as Chicago. The old ski lodge is now a privately owned cabin, and it sits at the entrance to the driveway that leads back to Rick's home. Rick has been the caretaker for the 3,000 acre piece of property that butts up against the old ski lodge. He's been doing that job for 28 years. Yes, he's older than dirt with yet another birthday coming up December 10th. If I'm not mistaken that will put him up around 65 years old.
Charlie has been healing up from a recent fall off a bulldozer that caused him to break several ribs. He also brought up the Alabama flu with him. He was only firing on about three cylinders. Hector, on the other hand, was up and ready for whatever came his way. He loves life and has been all around the world. He has a million jokes, stories, and hunting adventures. His personality makes him an easy fit. Everybody likes him.
Even though Charlie was feeling poorly, the two of them were on stand every morning and every evening. Rick sat them in hunting shacks that are tucked in along the edge of a power line that cuts across the property.
Opening day is a northern Michigan celebratory event. The usually quiet north country is inundated with vehicles full of hunters. The stores are crowded and the watering holes are packed. It's a real economic boom that many businesses rely on to make their year.
As I said, Charlie hunted from Rick's blind which looks straight down the power line. Hector was in blind number 3 about 500 yards down from Charlie in Rick's son's Ricky's blind. Many a nice buck have been taken from those two blinds and Rick shot the second largest buck in the area last year sitting right between blind one and blind three.
With Charlie and Hector on stand, Rick, his grandson Wesley, and I drove a couple miles across the property to a 160 acre piece that had been leased from Rick's boss for the last several years. Rick spends quite a bit of time during deer season walking and driving the property looking for trespassers. You'd be surprised at how many people will build blinds etc. without being sure about whose land they're on.
After we parked, Wesley headed out to a tree that he would climb with his climber. Rick walked me out to a spot that overlooked a ravine. He told me to wait for daylight and then find a clear vantage point. He walked back west along the ravine. As dawn broke, and I began hearing shots, I kept scanning the landscape for movement. About an hour after daylight I move a little west to a two track that I could look down as it crossed the ravine. I was standing next to a tree when I saw movement to my left and spotted a buck with his nose to the ground trailing a doe. I was exposed and felt that if I tried to raise my rifle that I would be spotted. So, I decided to ease my way behind the tree and raise my gun. When I had it on my shoulder I peeked around the tree, but the deer had vanished. It was just gone, and it wasn't until later that I realized there was a steep drop where I had seen the deer and that he must of dropped down out of sight and worked his way back into the thick stuff. I did see a doe just minutes after that and I really thought that the buck would be following her. That buck just made a good zig at the right time, and lived to see another day.
A little while after I saw the buck I heard a shot followed by talking. I couldn't make out what was being said, but it was from the direction that Rick had walked earlier. Come to find out later, a trespasser had shot a three point right in front of Rick. Rick had to confront the father and his son, who were both on the private property. He allowed them to keep the deer, but had them remove their blinds and leave the property asap.
We hunted the 160 piece for two days and didn't see any other bucks. We did see a few does, but there wasn't a lot of deer moving. It didn't appear that there was as much shooting as I've heard during previous seasons. I think the economy has impacted the number of hunters that take the time off to hunt. When there aren't as many hunters the deer don't bounce around as much and you just don't see them.
On opening day, several deer were harvested. Ricky's friend, Matt Hosmer, shot a nice deer and missed another one. He was hunting from the spot that Ricky took his big deer and his eight point last year. Here are some pictures of Matt's deer.
After opening morning, Hector, Charlie, and I headed back to the cabin for lunch and a cat nap for Charlie. He needs his beauty sleep every day, believe me. When we headed back to Rick's around 2:00 p.m., we found the Warner Brothers and Pop there with a couple of bucks.
Danny shot a six point, and his brother Doug got a spike. Pop missed a ten point that a guy down the ridge shot. Here are a few more opening day pics.
We hunted hard for three days up until Charlie and Hector had to head home Friday morning. Charlie saw does and that's about all Hector had been seeing as well. Charlie took one night off, and I sat in his blind. Around 5:00 p.m. Wednesday night, I saw a deer walk out that I figured had to be just a few yards from Hector's blind. I kept thinking he was going to shoot at any second, but later he said he had been spending more time looking to his right where he had a longer view of the power line.
Needless to say, we gave Hector a hard time about not seeing the deer. With this bunch, if you mess up a little, you are not given the liberty to forget it any time soon. There was a lot of good nature kidding that went on all week, but that's part of what deer camp is all about.
Thursday was the last day that Hector and Charlie were going to be able to hunt. They wanted to be sure to get back over to Rick's early in the afternoon to spend as much time as they could trying to fill their tags.
Just as we were about to leave for the Skinner compound, my buddy John stopped by. I decided to hang around a while to talk with him about his hunting. He has 60 plus acres east of here. I planned to drive over later.
After John left, I headed over to Rick's, and he told me that Hector had decided to go out with Rick's brother's long time best buddy Dan. The number three blind then was going to be open, so Rick told me to head down there.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking that after Hector had sat there all week that it would be just his luck that a deer would walk out for me to shoot.
Remembering that deer from the night before had walked out on the left side of No. 3, I put my rifle barrel out the window on that side and propped the stock up on the front sill. I didn't want to have to lift the rifle and create extra movement that might spook the deer. I knew, however, that even though you expect to see them in one place, they usually pop out in another. As it turned out, that's exactly just what happened.
At 5:05 p.m. I saw some movement out the right window. As I focussed on it, I saw horns! I immediately took my gun down and laid it on the opposite window sill. I knelt down and watched the deer work down the woodline. It was now about 60 to 70 yards out. The buck left the wood line and began walking across the power line. There was a dip in the gentle slope of land the laid between me and the deer. Just the horns of the deer were visible. I knew, however, that as he proceeded, he would walk into the open. He appeared just where I surmised. I thought about trying to whistle or grunt to stop him. I decided that he was walking slow enough and that I could make a good shot as he moseyed along. I put the .280's scope on his front shoulder and compensated just a tad for the gait. I touched it off, and after the recoil, I thought I saw him drop and spin like he'd been hit. He took off running, but he looked hard hit. He was running up the hill through the oaks, moving off to his left. I watched til he disappeared, and when I couldn't see him any more, I mentally took note of where I last saw him.
I really thought that I had made a good clean shot, but you never really know until you recover the animal. I didn't want this deer to run far, so I didn't run down to where I shot him. If he wasn't hit hard, I wanted him to lie down and bleed out. If you push a wounded deer they will travel a lot further than you would expect them to be able to. It's a hard thing to do, but it's the smart thing to do and increases the likelihood of a recovery.
While I waited and watched the daylight turned into night, I texted Rick and told him about my deer. He texted me back with the same advice; let him go and not to push him. When it got too dark to see I walked back to Rick's house.
We sat around until about 6:45 p.m. and then headed back to No. 3 to look for a blood trail. When we got back there it was pitch black. Not a glint of moonlight. I got turned around in the dark, and really could not give them good locational info. We looked for 45 minutes and didn't find anything. We headed back, and I would have to wait til morning to look again for the deer.
I wasn't happy, and all kinds of doubt crept into my thinking. Did I make the shot that I thought I had made? Did I imagine I saw him drop? Did I really see him stumble as he ran? Crapola, not only did I not have the deer, but I knew that I would have to endure a lot of ribbing from Hector and Charlie.
When I got back to the cabin I heard it nonstop from Hector and Charlie. I admit, I probably had it coming because I did rib them a bit when they lost those four steelhead. I remained quietly confident, but tried to soften things up with a few excuses in the event I did not recover the deer.
That night I didn't get much sleep. It really wasn't because of me worrying about the deer, but more because of all the hooping and hollering that was involved in the poker game that lasted to almost 2:00 a.m.
I got up at 4:00 a.m. and saw Hector and Charlie off. I then drove back over to Rick's and he sat in No. 1, and I went down to sit back in No. 3. Rick said he'd be down at around 8:00 a.m., and we'd look for the deer.
I kept my head on a swivel all morning, but didn't see anything. A couple of times I re-enacted my shot and marked the spots where I thought I'd find sign.
Rick knocked on my blind just after 8:00, and I directed him from my blind down to where I felt the deer stood. As Rick checked the area and expanded his search, I walked down. Just as I got to the spot where I felt the deer stood when I shot him, Rick said he thought he saw the deer up on the hill. My heart raced and my hopes soared as I beat feet over to where he stood. Sure enough just 30 yards up the hill, I could see the deer lying. It was right where I'd lost sight of him. He hadn't ran more that sixty yards total, and most of that was a curve that left him about 30 yards from where I shot him. Needless to say I was a happy camper, and I'm not at all embarrassed to say I gave Rick the biggest bear hug an old guy like me can muster.
I had made a perfect shot and double lunged him. It may be kind of gross to say, but part of his lung was hanging out of the far side where the bullet exited. From the time I shot the deer it didn't live for more than 40 seconds.
Well, as usual, I've been at this way too long. I had intended to put a little more in this blog, but it is getting to be time to go back to the stand. My deer had four points on one side so with my combo license I can still shoot another buck. I may have time to return to finish this up a little more tonight. The final shot of this blog will be the beautiful sunset from the deer woods. Priceless!!
November 10, 2011
The countdown to the firearms deer season here in Michigan has begun. This weekend the northern landscape will be transformed into a dizzying crowd of orange clad hunters. There will be cars parked down every two track around. The local watering holes will experience the business that they wait all year for and for many it's that business the makes it or breaks it for them.
We came up to the cabin a couple of days ago only to have to hole up because of a pretty good Nor-easter. The wind blew hard for a day and a half and it rained buckets. I did manage to sit out last night, but it was still blowing and raining off and on and I didn't see a thing.
As I'm typing this morning, I deep scanning the periphery of the cabin woods to see if I see any movement. Nothing since I got up at six.
Yesterday, I didn't go out because of the storm, so I drove over to meet the coffee clutch at Tiny's Bait Shop. Man, there was a big group there! I drank a couple cups of coffee and fraternized with the locals. The Cementman was there with his brother Dan. It's always good to see them. My ole buddy Larry Reed was there with his chocolate lab, my neighbor Dave was there, Clarence, The Polish Prince of Hudsonville, and just as everyone was about to leave, in walked Back Up and Dump Stumbrie. There were three or four other guys there, but I don't know all there names.
It was my birthday yesterday, so my son and my wife and I went out for breakfast. I think breakfast is my favorite meal to have out at a restaurant. It's always hard though to know if I want to go the cholesterol route and have an omelette, or go the carb route and get the pancakes. What the heck, your birthday only comes once a year so I had the famers omelette and a pancake. It's kind of hard to get a candle to stand up in an omelette, so I just went with sausage gravy.
Hopefully today, we'll be able to get our rifle's sited in and maybe do some scouting around the area for a place for my son to hunt. He's got a buddy coming up and they plan to hunt some property that he has access to, but it's always nice to a have a back up.
I received an email from Mike Elkins concerning the B.A.S.S Federation Club that I am planning on putting together. It's pretty much going to be a paper club, but who knows we may have a social event or two. I will be beating the drum for members, I think we have to have a minimum of six, right after gun season is over. Part of the requirements for the club is to have someone attend two of the four President's Meeting at the Auburn Hills Bass Pro Shop. One of those is in December, so I'll have to work fast to get six guys that want to join. The main reason for many to join the Federation is to fish the State Championship. This coming year it will be on Lake St. Clair. We will need to send equal numbers of boaters and non-boaters, so if you don't have a boat this is a great tournament for you to get involved in. Don Fowler won the whole Northern Divisional as a non-boater.
I almost started this blog with another Alabama Rig, Alabama Rig, lead. However, as you can see I went a different direction. I do have some info in the form of a how to video, if you are interested in trying to make your own rig. Here is a You Tube video showing you exactly what you need to have and then showing you how everything goes together. (For some reason, You Tube won't allow me to just add a link to their site for you to view the video. I have to what they call "embed" it. That works, but the more videos I have each month the longer it takes for the blog to load.)
Well, they predicted a wintery mix of rain and snow today and right as I type at 9:14 a.m. there is a snow squall coming across the lake. Today is the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. If you have a few minutes the tribute video below is very good and gives you a nice historical perspective. Twenty-nine lives were lost when she sank.
Chico experto y muy agradable de pesca bajo Nick Vawter sent me some pictures of what he describes as a nice cull buck he took down in Texas on a lease he hunts. Nice looking buck!
Congratulation en un bonito venado de Texas Mr. Vawter. By the way Nick is back in Michigan for the week. He is flying up today and will be spending time hunting with his boys just east of White Cloud. After that, they take a little break and go out west for another round of chasing whitetails out in Iowa. Sounds like fun! Send me some pictures, and I'm still waiting on the last batch from when the boys went down for some hogs a few weeks back.
My middle son is out in Denver going to school. He's hoping to complete an electrical engineering program. A couple of days ago he sent me some pictures from a project he got involved in. A professor gets students involved in a NASA program where they build a mini computer that they send up via a weather balloon to the edge of space, about 100,000 ft. up. He sent me some pictures.
This NASA program that various universities get involved with, requires that the students build from the ground up the package that the balloon caries aloft. They have to put together the mini computer from scratch requiring them to design, solder, and put together the circuitry. They then have to program the computer to operate camera. They then have to assemble GPS tacking unit so that they can find it after its flight. Just last night, I saw a Citi Bank commercial where a group of students are participating in this project. Maybe you've seen it as well.
I read on Bass Zone about Dean Rojas and his partner winning the Fish and Chips competition that just recently concluded. A number of pros pair up with friends and fish together in Oklahoma and then they compete in a Texas Hold 'em tournament. They get points for their place of finish in both contests and the point leaders after all is said and done are the big winners. There is of course a prize involved, but from what I have read and heard, the pros use this a bit of R an R. Here is a link to the article that gives you the run down on the event: ROJAS AND KISSELBURG TAKE THE FISH & CHIPS TITLE...
It's time for me to get a few things done this morning, so take care and keep an eye on the weather. It's suppose to get a little dicey tonight.
November 4, 2011
The gales of November are often recounted and probably none more so than the one that struck on November 10th, 1975. That particular storm sank the Edmund Fitzgerald, and all hands were lost. It seems like Mother Nature, in her grand splendor, can produce situations that from one side look beautiful, but from another are grim reminders of her fierceness. I found this tribute utilizing Gordon Lightfoot's haunting ballad to be both interesting and a lasting tribute to her crew. You can click the bottom right of the video file (the four little arrows) to make this video full screen.
It's been taking me a while to get this blog finally finished. I even had to forgo hunting this morning in order to get it finished. While I have been typing, I take breaks to look out the windows to watch for critters. A couple of days ago, I got a picture of this red fox as he made his rounds along the lake.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
With our fishing trip locked in to our memory banks, the quest changed toward whitetail hunting with Rick "The Cementman" Skinner. That required rising at 4:00 a.m. every morning and hunting most of the day and walking back in in the dark. Long days on stand, with little sleep, trying not to check out the back of your eyelids and miss your few seconds that you get when a deer comes by.
The Skinner Clan have an almost 3,000 acre parcel that they have access to, and they have been hunting the land for probably 50+ years. Rick's Uncle came over from the Flint area years ago and built a ski lodge that he owned and operated for a number of years. Bus loads of skiers use to come from as far away as Chicago. The old ski lodge is now a privately owned cabin, and it sits at the entrance to the driveway that leads back to Rick's home. Rick has been the caretaker for the 3,000 acre piece of property that butts up against the old ski lodge. He's been doing that job for 28 years. Yes, he's older than dirt with yet another birthday coming up December 10th. If I'm not mistaken that will put him up around 65 years old.
Charlie has been healing up from a recent fall off a bulldozer that caused him to break several ribs. He also brought up the Alabama flu with him. He was only firing on about three cylinders. Hector, on the other hand, was up and ready for whatever came his way. He loves life and has been all around the world. He has a million jokes, stories, and hunting adventures. His personality makes him an easy fit. Everybody likes him.
Even though Charlie was feeling poorly, the two of them were on stand every morning and every evening. Rick sat them in hunting shacks that are tucked in along the edge of a power line that cuts across the property.
A look down the power line from blind number one. Hector's blind was near the third pole down.
Opening day is a northern Michigan celebratory event. The usually quiet north country is inundated with vehicles full of hunters. The stores are crowded and the watering holes are packed. It's a real economic boom that many businesses rely on to make their year.
As I said, Charlie hunted from Rick's blind which looks straight down the power line. Hector was in blind number 3 about 500 yards down from Charlie in Rick's son's Ricky's blind. Many a nice buck have been taken from those two blinds and Rick shot the second largest buck in the area last year sitting right between blind one and blind three.
With Charlie and Hector on stand, Rick, his grandson Wesley, and I drove a couple miles across the property to a 160 acre piece that had been leased from Rick's boss for the last several years. Rick spends quite a bit of time during deer season walking and driving the property looking for trespassers. You'd be surprised at how many people will build blinds etc. without being sure about whose land they're on.
After we parked, Wesley headed out to a tree that he would climb with his climber. Rick walked me out to a spot that overlooked a ravine. He told me to wait for daylight and then find a clear vantage point. He walked back west along the ravine. As dawn broke, and I began hearing shots, I kept scanning the landscape for movement. About an hour after daylight I move a little west to a two track that I could look down as it crossed the ravine. I was standing next to a tree when I saw movement to my left and spotted a buck with his nose to the ground trailing a doe. I was exposed and felt that if I tried to raise my rifle that I would be spotted. So, I decided to ease my way behind the tree and raise my gun. When I had it on my shoulder I peeked around the tree, but the deer had vanished. It was just gone, and it wasn't until later that I realized there was a steep drop where I had seen the deer and that he must of dropped down out of sight and worked his way back into the thick stuff. I did see a doe just minutes after that and I really thought that the buck would be following her. That buck just made a good zig at the right time, and lived to see another day.
A little while after I saw the buck I heard a shot followed by talking. I couldn't make out what was being said, but it was from the direction that Rick had walked earlier. Come to find out later, a trespasser had shot a three point right in front of Rick. Rick had to confront the father and his son, who were both on the private property. He allowed them to keep the deer, but had them remove their blinds and leave the property asap.
We hunted the 160 piece for two days and didn't see any other bucks. We did see a few does, but there wasn't a lot of deer moving. It didn't appear that there was as much shooting as I've heard during previous seasons. I think the economy has impacted the number of hunters that take the time off to hunt. When there aren't as many hunters the deer don't bounce around as much and you just don't see them.
On opening day, several deer were harvested. Ricky's friend, Matt Hosmer, shot a nice deer and missed another one. He was hunting from the spot that Ricky took his big deer and his eight point last year. Here are some pictures of Matt's deer.
Matt Hosmer's opening day trophy. Congrats Matt!
Some opening day hopefuls admiring Matt's deer.
Rick and Hector swapping deer stories
After opening morning, Hector, Charlie, and I headed back to the cabin for lunch and a cat nap for Charlie. He needs his beauty sleep every day, believe me. When we headed back to Rick's around 2:00 p.m., we found the Warner Brothers and Pop there with a couple of bucks.
Danny shot a six point, and his brother Doug got a spike. Pop missed a ten point that a guy down the ridge shot. Here are a few more opening day pics.
Danny Warner's opening day buck. Congratulations Danny.
The Warner Brothers' Bucks
The opening day brain trust: Charlie, The Cementman, and Pop Warner
Rick's younger brother Jim showing off some nice racks he's taken.
We hunted hard for three days up until Charlie and Hector had to head home Friday morning. Charlie saw does and that's about all Hector had been seeing as well. Charlie took one night off, and I sat in his blind. Around 5:00 p.m. Wednesday night, I saw a deer walk out that I figured had to be just a few yards from Hector's blind. I kept thinking he was going to shoot at any second, but later he said he had been spending more time looking to his right where he had a longer view of the power line.
Needless to say, we gave Hector a hard time about not seeing the deer. With this bunch, if you mess up a little, you are not given the liberty to forget it any time soon. There was a lot of good nature kidding that went on all week, but that's part of what deer camp is all about.
Thursday was the last day that Hector and Charlie were going to be able to hunt. They wanted to be sure to get back over to Rick's early in the afternoon to spend as much time as they could trying to fill their tags.
Just as we were about to leave for the Skinner compound, my buddy John stopped by. I decided to hang around a while to talk with him about his hunting. He has 60 plus acres east of here. I planned to drive over later.
After John left, I headed over to Rick's, and he told me that Hector had decided to go out with Rick's brother's long time best buddy Dan. The number three blind then was going to be open, so Rick told me to head down there.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking that after Hector had sat there all week that it would be just his luck that a deer would walk out for me to shoot.
Remembering that deer from the night before had walked out on the left side of No. 3, I put my rifle barrel out the window on that side and propped the stock up on the front sill. I didn't want to have to lift the rifle and create extra movement that might spook the deer. I knew, however, that even though you expect to see them in one place, they usually pop out in another. As it turned out, that's exactly just what happened.
At 5:05 p.m. I saw some movement out the right window. As I focussed on it, I saw horns! I immediately took my gun down and laid it on the opposite window sill. I knelt down and watched the deer work down the woodline. It was now about 60 to 70 yards out. The buck left the wood line and began walking across the power line. There was a dip in the gentle slope of land the laid between me and the deer. Just the horns of the deer were visible. I knew, however, that as he proceeded, he would walk into the open. He appeared just where I surmised. I thought about trying to whistle or grunt to stop him. I decided that he was walking slow enough and that I could make a good shot as he moseyed along. I put the .280's scope on his front shoulder and compensated just a tad for the gait. I touched it off, and after the recoil, I thought I saw him drop and spin like he'd been hit. He took off running, but he looked hard hit. He was running up the hill through the oaks, moving off to his left. I watched til he disappeared, and when I couldn't see him any more, I mentally took note of where I last saw him.
I really thought that I had made a good clean shot, but you never really know until you recover the animal. I didn't want this deer to run far, so I didn't run down to where I shot him. If he wasn't hit hard, I wanted him to lie down and bleed out. If you push a wounded deer they will travel a lot further than you would expect them to be able to. It's a hard thing to do, but it's the smart thing to do and increases the likelihood of a recovery.
While I waited and watched the daylight turned into night, I texted Rick and told him about my deer. He texted me back with the same advice; let him go and not to push him. When it got too dark to see I walked back to Rick's house.
We sat around until about 6:45 p.m. and then headed back to No. 3 to look for a blood trail. When we got back there it was pitch black. Not a glint of moonlight. I got turned around in the dark, and really could not give them good locational info. We looked for 45 minutes and didn't find anything. We headed back, and I would have to wait til morning to look again for the deer.
I wasn't happy, and all kinds of doubt crept into my thinking. Did I make the shot that I thought I had made? Did I imagine I saw him drop? Did I really see him stumble as he ran? Crapola, not only did I not have the deer, but I knew that I would have to endure a lot of ribbing from Hector and Charlie.
When I got back to the cabin I heard it nonstop from Hector and Charlie. I admit, I probably had it coming because I did rib them a bit when they lost those four steelhead. I remained quietly confident, but tried to soften things up with a few excuses in the event I did not recover the deer.
That night I didn't get much sleep. It really wasn't because of me worrying about the deer, but more because of all the hooping and hollering that was involved in the poker game that lasted to almost 2:00 a.m.
I got up at 4:00 a.m. and saw Hector and Charlie off. I then drove back over to Rick's and he sat in No. 1, and I went down to sit back in No. 3. Rick said he'd be down at around 8:00 a.m., and we'd look for the deer.
I kept my head on a swivel all morning, but didn't see anything. A couple of times I re-enacted my shot and marked the spots where I thought I'd find sign.
Rick knocked on my blind just after 8:00, and I directed him from my blind down to where I felt the deer stood. As Rick checked the area and expanded his search, I walked down. Just as I got to the spot where I felt the deer stood when I shot him, Rick said he thought he saw the deer up on the hill. My heart raced and my hopes soared as I beat feet over to where he stood. Sure enough just 30 yards up the hill, I could see the deer lying. It was right where I'd lost sight of him. He hadn't ran more that sixty yards total, and most of that was a curve that left him about 30 yards from where I shot him. Needless to say I was a happy camper, and I'm not at all embarrassed to say I gave Rick the biggest bear hug an old guy like me can muster.
I had made a perfect shot and double lunged him. It may be kind of gross to say, but part of his lung was hanging out of the far side where the bullet exited. From the time I shot the deer it didn't live for more than 40 seconds.
My 2011 turdy pointer. I count 7 pts. Rick only gives me 6.
I was one happy hunter!!!
Getty Vicious in the woods. Once you shoot them the real work starts.
From the blind, you can see the strip of light colored grass where the deer stood.
It was sure nice to have my good buddy Rick there to celebrate the harvest. Thanks Rick!
Well, as usual, I've been at this way too long. I had intended to put a little more in this blog, but it is getting to be time to go back to the stand. My deer had four points on one side so with my combo license I can still shoot another buck. I may have time to return to finish this up a little more tonight. The final shot of this blog will be the beautiful sunset from the deer woods. Priceless!!
Does it get any better than this?
November 10, 2011
The countdown to the firearms deer season here in Michigan has begun. This weekend the northern landscape will be transformed into a dizzying crowd of orange clad hunters. There will be cars parked down every two track around. The local watering holes will experience the business that they wait all year for and for many it's that business the makes it or breaks it for them.
We came up to the cabin a couple of days ago only to have to hole up because of a pretty good Nor-easter. The wind blew hard for a day and a half and it rained buckets. I did manage to sit out last night, but it was still blowing and raining off and on and I didn't see a thing.
As I'm typing this morning, I deep scanning the periphery of the cabin woods to see if I see any movement. Nothing since I got up at six.
Yesterday, I didn't go out because of the storm, so I drove over to meet the coffee clutch at Tiny's Bait Shop. Man, there was a big group there! I drank a couple cups of coffee and fraternized with the locals. The Cementman was there with his brother Dan. It's always good to see them. My ole buddy Larry Reed was there with his chocolate lab, my neighbor Dave was there, Clarence, The Polish Prince of Hudsonville, and just as everyone was about to leave, in walked Back Up and Dump Stumbrie. There were three or four other guys there, but I don't know all there names.
It was my birthday yesterday, so my son and my wife and I went out for breakfast. I think breakfast is my favorite meal to have out at a restaurant. It's always hard though to know if I want to go the cholesterol route and have an omelette, or go the carb route and get the pancakes. What the heck, your birthday only comes once a year so I had the famers omelette and a pancake. It's kind of hard to get a candle to stand up in an omelette, so I just went with sausage gravy.
Hopefully today, we'll be able to get our rifle's sited in and maybe do some scouting around the area for a place for my son to hunt. He's got a buddy coming up and they plan to hunt some property that he has access to, but it's always nice to a have a back up.
I received an email from Mike Elkins concerning the B.A.S.S Federation Club that I am planning on putting together. It's pretty much going to be a paper club, but who knows we may have a social event or two. I will be beating the drum for members, I think we have to have a minimum of six, right after gun season is over. Part of the requirements for the club is to have someone attend two of the four President's Meeting at the Auburn Hills Bass Pro Shop. One of those is in December, so I'll have to work fast to get six guys that want to join. The main reason for many to join the Federation is to fish the State Championship. This coming year it will be on Lake St. Clair. We will need to send equal numbers of boaters and non-boaters, so if you don't have a boat this is a great tournament for you to get involved in. Don Fowler won the whole Northern Divisional as a non-boater.
I almost started this blog with another Alabama Rig, Alabama Rig, lead. However, as you can see I went a different direction. I do have some info in the form of a how to video, if you are interested in trying to make your own rig. Here is a You Tube video showing you exactly what you need to have and then showing you how everything goes together. (For some reason, You Tube won't allow me to just add a link to their site for you to view the video. I have to what they call "embed" it. That works, but the more videos I have each month the longer it takes for the blog to load.)
Make your own Alabama Rig
Well, they predicted a wintery mix of rain and snow today and right as I type at 9:14 a.m. there is a snow squall coming across the lake. Today is the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. If you have a few minutes the tribute video below is very good and gives you a nice historical perspective. Twenty-nine lives were lost when she sank.
Chico experto y muy agradable de pesca bajo Nick Vawter sent me some pictures of what he describes as a nice cull buck he took down in Texas on a lease he hunts. Nice looking buck!
Nick Vawters Opening Day Texas whitetail trophy.
Nick says this deer has probably the widest rack of any he's taken.
Congratulation en un bonito venado de Texas Mr. Vawter. By the way Nick is back in Michigan for the week. He is flying up today and will be spending time hunting with his boys just east of White Cloud. After that, they take a little break and go out west for another round of chasing whitetails out in Iowa. Sounds like fun! Send me some pictures, and I'm still waiting on the last batch from when the boys went down for some hogs a few weeks back.
My middle son is out in Denver going to school. He's hoping to complete an electrical engineering program. A couple of days ago he sent me some pictures from a project he got involved in. A professor gets students involved in a NASA program where they build a mini computer that they send up via a weather balloon to the edge of space, about 100,000 ft. up. He sent me some pictures.
University of Colorado NASA project
From the edge of space
They built, launched, and retrieved the balloon.
This NASA program that various universities get involved with, requires that the students build from the ground up the package that the balloon caries aloft. They have to put together the mini computer from scratch requiring them to design, solder, and put together the circuitry. They then have to program the computer to operate camera. They then have to assemble GPS tacking unit so that they can find it after its flight. Just last night, I saw a Citi Bank commercial where a group of students are participating in this project. Maybe you've seen it as well.
I read on Bass Zone about Dean Rojas and his partner winning the Fish and Chips competition that just recently concluded. A number of pros pair up with friends and fish together in Oklahoma and then they compete in a Texas Hold 'em tournament. They get points for their place of finish in both contests and the point leaders after all is said and done are the big winners. There is of course a prize involved, but from what I have read and heard, the pros use this a bit of R an R. Here is a link to the article that gives you the run down on the event: ROJAS AND KISSELBURG TAKE THE FISH & CHIPS TITLE...
It's time for me to get a few things done this morning, so take care and keep an eye on the weather. It's suppose to get a little dicey tonight.
November 4, 2011
The gales of November are often recounted and probably none more so than the one that struck on November 10th, 1975. That particular storm sank the Edmund Fitzgerald, and all hands were lost. It seems like Mother Nature, in her grand splendor, can produce situations that from one side look beautiful, but from another are grim reminders of her fierceness. I found this tribute utilizing Gordon Lightfoot's haunting ballad to be both interesting and a lasting tribute to her crew. You can click the bottom right of the video file (the four little arrows) to make this video full screen.
"When the gales of November come early..."
As you probably noticed, I broke the blog for the new month. The individual months, and years, can be revisited in the archived section at the top of this blog page. I always leave the last entry from the proceeding month, because it doesn't get as much screen time and some may have not had a chance to read it.
The A-Rig is in the news again as Dan Moorehead utilized it to capture the Everstart Championship on Kentucky Lake. It does appear that this lure definitely has its place in the tackle box. It has come up big in two heavyweight tournaments and certainly is the very center of attention of late.
If you go to Andy Poss' website , you'll find a rather long wait to buy one. For us northerners, who are expecting hard water soon, the wait may not be a problem. However, if you have a trip to the southern climes on the agenda, you may want to get your hands on one of the new umbrella rigs sooner. You may want to try Bass Tackle Depot if you need one asap. There first run of their version of the bait sold out almost right away. The next batch will be ready to be shipped on November 9th. That being my birthday, maybe someone will have one sent to me - note to wife. By the way, here is the link to the article detailing Dan Moorehead's Everstart Win on Kentucky Lake .
On Bass Fan the other day, they had a You Tube video of what they were dubbing the A-Rod. It was a Japanese video that showed an angler using a pole that he had modified. It had the butt section, but then branched out with five tips. He had it rigged with five lines so he could cast five individual baits at a time and reel them in. I'm not going to embed the video, because having a bunch of videos embedded causes the blog page to load much slower. Here is a link to the video: The A-Rod .
Back a few years ago (The FNA Trip is archived above on this page) Don Fowler represented Michigan in The B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship. He made the B.A.S.S. Team by qualifying on the Saginaw River and then proceeded to win the Northern Regional, which moved him on to the Nationals. He then traveled to Florida where he competed for a chance to be one of six federation members to fish in the Bassmaster Classic.
I travelled down to experience that opportunity with Don and chronicled it above. This year's B.A.S.S. Federation Nation hopefuls are on the water as we speak, fishing the Ouachita River, down in Monroe , LA. Here's a link that shows the different Divisional results: 2011 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship Results after Day 1 .
Speaking of the B.A.S.S. Federation, I told Paul Sacks, Michigan's President, that I would start a club this year. By joining a B.A.S.S. Federation club, you automatically get to fish their events and their State Championship. If you make the state team like Don and my old fishing partner Ronnie Hicks, you may end up in the Bassmaster Classic.
Another reason for joining a club, is that you are then eligible for the early entry in Bassmasters' Marshal program. It's the only way to get in to the early sign up, and so doing usually guarantees that you get to ride three days instead of two. If you Marshal an event, and you're from Michigan, it means some travel time. Getting an additional day makes the trip more economical and more fun.
There are other benefits associated with being a Federation member, and by the way, you can't be a Federation member without being in a club. Sounds weird, but that is how it is currently set up. You can get more information about the Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation by visiting their website: Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation . If you are interested in joining the B.A.S.S. Federation group that I'm going to have it's easy. It does cost about $40 a year, but as I said it has its perks. The club/group is probably going to be basically a "paper club." No real requirements or any meetings per se. We'll see how it shakes out in terms of the social aspect of get togethers or outings. Email me using the website contact button. By the way, if you are in college or heading that way, the B.A.S.S. Federation has a scholarship program that people I know have applied for and received monies. You have to join a club, however to qualify. Just an F.Y.I.
The other night I was killing time, so I stopped at Gander Mountain to look around. One of my former students works there, and I always enjoy talking with him. I also ran in to Mike O. He runs the West Marine store out on 28th St. Mike is what you would call an avid angler. He recently has been doing some fishing with another acquaintance of mine Ed D. They have been fishing some of my favorite lakes in the Great Northwest Corner of Michigan. Ed caught his personal best smallmouth a 6 lb. 4 oz. pig. Mike reeled in several nice smallies himself on their trip. Here are some pictures that many a smallie chaser would drool over. Mike has several more pics up on Kimmel's greatlakesbass.com site. Check em out if you have time.
The A-Rig is in the news again as Dan Moorehead utilized it to capture the Everstart Championship on Kentucky Lake. It does appear that this lure definitely has its place in the tackle box. It has come up big in two heavyweight tournaments and certainly is the very center of attention of late.
If you go to Andy Poss' website , you'll find a rather long wait to buy one. For us northerners, who are expecting hard water soon, the wait may not be a problem. However, if you have a trip to the southern climes on the agenda, you may want to get your hands on one of the new umbrella rigs sooner. You may want to try Bass Tackle Depot if you need one asap. There first run of their version of the bait sold out almost right away. The next batch will be ready to be shipped on November 9th. That being my birthday, maybe someone will have one sent to me - note to wife. By the way, here is the link to the article detailing Dan Moorehead's Everstart Win on Kentucky Lake .
On Bass Fan the other day, they had a You Tube video of what they were dubbing the A-Rod. It was a Japanese video that showed an angler using a pole that he had modified. It had the butt section, but then branched out with five tips. He had it rigged with five lines so he could cast five individual baits at a time and reel them in. I'm not going to embed the video, because having a bunch of videos embedded causes the blog page to load much slower. Here is a link to the video: The A-Rod .
Back a few years ago (The FNA Trip is archived above on this page) Don Fowler represented Michigan in The B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship. He made the B.A.S.S. Team by qualifying on the Saginaw River and then proceeded to win the Northern Regional, which moved him on to the Nationals. He then traveled to Florida where he competed for a chance to be one of six federation members to fish in the Bassmaster Classic.
I travelled down to experience that opportunity with Don and chronicled it above. This year's B.A.S.S. Federation Nation hopefuls are on the water as we speak, fishing the Ouachita River, down in Monroe , LA. Here's a link that shows the different Divisional results: 2011 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship Results after Day 1 .
Speaking of the B.A.S.S. Federation, I told Paul Sacks, Michigan's President, that I would start a club this year. By joining a B.A.S.S. Federation club, you automatically get to fish their events and their State Championship. If you make the state team like Don and my old fishing partner Ronnie Hicks, you may end up in the Bassmaster Classic.
Another reason for joining a club, is that you are then eligible for the early entry in Bassmasters' Marshal program. It's the only way to get in to the early sign up, and so doing usually guarantees that you get to ride three days instead of two. If you Marshal an event, and you're from Michigan, it means some travel time. Getting an additional day makes the trip more economical and more fun.
There are other benefits associated with being a Federation member, and by the way, you can't be a Federation member without being in a club. Sounds weird, but that is how it is currently set up. You can get more information about the Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation by visiting their website: Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation . If you are interested in joining the B.A.S.S. Federation group that I'm going to have it's easy. It does cost about $40 a year, but as I said it has its perks. The club/group is probably going to be basically a "paper club." No real requirements or any meetings per se. We'll see how it shakes out in terms of the social aspect of get togethers or outings. Email me using the website contact button. By the way, if you are in college or heading that way, the B.A.S.S. Federation has a scholarship program that people I know have applied for and received monies. You have to join a club, however to qualify. Just an F.Y.I.
My buddy Ron made the State Team a few years back
The other night I was killing time, so I stopped at Gander Mountain to look around. One of my former students works there, and I always enjoy talking with him. I also ran in to Mike O. He runs the West Marine store out on 28th St. Mike is what you would call an avid angler. He recently has been doing some fishing with another acquaintance of mine Ed D. They have been fishing some of my favorite lakes in the Great Northwest Corner of Michigan. Ed caught his personal best smallmouth a 6 lb. 4 oz. pig. Mike reeled in several nice smallies himself on their trip. Here are some pictures that many a smallie chaser would drool over. Mike has several more pics up on Kimmel's greatlakesbass.com site. Check em out if you have time.
Mike with two dandy late Fall smallmouth.
Ed with his personal best smallie, a real dandy!
Needless to say, if you haven't put your boat to bed for the winter, there are still some great days to be had on the water!
The problem with Fall is number one, as a season it is too short here in Michigan. Another problem is that Fall means it's time to get out into the woods, and as it gets cold bass anglers trade in the butt seat for a tree stand. I guess it's really not a problem, but it does bring about a conundrum of sorts.
For those who spend time in a stand, I have some pictures you will want to see. They were sent to me from my buddy Ron who's mentioned up above and is seen in the picture of the State team qualifiers. Ron is from Missouri where his family has a farm. Each year he schedules a visit to his old stomping grounds during deer season. He's taken a number of very nice bucks in the "Show me state. Two days ago Ron shot another dandy buck with his bow.
The problem with Fall is number one, as a season it is too short here in Michigan. Another problem is that Fall means it's time to get out into the woods, and as it gets cold bass anglers trade in the butt seat for a tree stand. I guess it's really not a problem, but it does bring about a conundrum of sorts.
For those who spend time in a stand, I have some pictures you will want to see. They were sent to me from my buddy Ron who's mentioned up above and is seen in the picture of the State team qualifiers. Ron is from Missouri where his family has a farm. Each year he schedules a visit to his old stomping grounds during deer season. He's taken a number of very nice bucks in the "Show me state. Two days ago Ron shot another dandy buck with his bow.
Man, what a buck!
A main frame ten with several scoreable kickers.
One more view of this nice whitetail!
It really gets the adrenaline flowing when you see fishing and hunting pictures like the ones in today's blog. If you are out and about, and are still fishing or spending time up a tree, send me your pics. I love looking at them, and I know others like them as well.
Well take care, and enjoy the weather today. It would be a great day to be out doing something other than raking leaves, but even that job is not too bad when the weather is nice.
October 29, 2011
Yes indeed, the frost has been on the pumpkin up in the Great Northwest Corner. The leaves are begrudgingly hanging on, so there are pockets of color yet. Each day though, we get showers of leaves falling.
I came up north to get some work done, and work is what I've been doing. Added to my list was a well pump issue as soon as we got here.
We sometimes just leave the well pump on if we think we are coming up regularly enough, and when we got here we had no water and weren't sure if we had shut the pump off last time we left. I went out to the well pit and could hear the pump running. When I opened it up and checked things out, the pump was so hot you really could hardly touch it. It was evening, so I shut it off, and when I got up the next day I called Walt Adams Well Digging and Repair from the Tear Drop ad flyer, which you can access from the main web page.
Walt came right out and diagnosed a tank valve as the culprit. I was worried with the lake as low as it is that my well may have gone dry. $3,500 for a well versus a $17 check valve, I can handle that.
I ran up to the Dublin General Store and picked one up and he installed it. Walt left, and shortly thereafter the pump began to run without shutting off again. I looked in the pit to see a tiny leak in the brass check valve coming off the main well pipe. I then had to make another trip up to Dublin and get a new check valve and a new nipple and a compression fitting. As I was back putting the new pieces in, the Cementman made an appearance and coached me through the repair. When the new pieces were installed, we turned on the water, and the pump still ran without shutting off.
While working on the the check valve I had bumped the new tank valve, and felt it move a bit. I suspected that it had loosened up just a tad, and sure enough, when when I tightened it the problem was solved. If that pump is sucking the tiniest amount of air, it won't build pressure. If you're working on a well pump you better be prepared to "Get angry" as Walt says, and make sure all the connections are as tight as you can get them.
That job completed, I took the rest of the day off. The next day, my handy and most capable brother-in-law Neal came to my carpentry rescue as I tried rebuilding a small roof over the back porch. He did in 30 minutes what would have probably taken me most of the day. I just don't do enough of that kind of work to know what the best engineering approach should be, and I spend way to much time in the contemplation phase of the project. Any how, we now have an almost completed roof that just needs some final touches. Thanks Neal!
When I got up this morning, I checked out some of my internet haunts. I wanted to see how the Everstart on Kentucky Lake was going. Yesterday was Day 2 of that event. I was interested to read whether guys were utilizing the new Alabama Rig was producing in the Kentucky Lake, Everstart event.
Andy Poss, the lure maker, was there with a trunk load of his new rigs right after the first practice day. He began selling them from his trunk and within minutes he had a line 120 anglers long. The FLW article I read that from also said that prior to Guntersville, they had about 8,000 hits on their Alabama Rig webpage . The other day, they were at 138,000 and climbing! Let's see that's $25 a pop for the rig, times a gazillion anglers wanting the rig, which equates to a rather substantial sum! I would have hated coming up with the lure. Can you imagine the tax problem you would have on all that profit.
It doesn't appear that the A-rig is making the type of difference it made on Guntersville. Some of the old traditional lures seem to be what are accounting for most of the fish there. Here is an article detailing the Day 2 Kentucky Lake results.
If you clicked on the Kentucky Lake article you found it took you to the FLW site. I still don't like how their site is set up and how their articles appear. I think the webmaster at B.A.S.S. should be given a raise for his or her work there. It's more appealing, easy to negotiate, and the pages are so much more crisp and easy to read. You'll also find that whenever you click on a link to FLW's site you are redirected from the site you're on and have to negotiate back to finish, say the blog, or whatever else you had been reading.
B.A.S.S. has picked up the Alabama Rig story, and they have had several articles on their website about it. Here is one of their more recent articles which gives some history on this freshwater take on an old saltwater device for triggering strikes. The piece also gives you the law on using a multiple bait hook in a number of states: "Alabama rig: History and law lessons ."
While at the B.A.S.S. site you might have visited KVD's blog. If you didn't, he has a new piece about the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, TTBC. Kevin talks about all the talent assembled for the Lake Conroe event. He also mentions how the draught stricken lake is seven feet low! He comments on all the structure that is visible and how locals are adding to it so that when the rains come and fill the lake to its normal pool, there will be even more structure. Here's a link to King Kong's Blog .
As Kevin described in his blog, the TTBC invites the best of the top three circuits, B.A.S.S. FLW, and the P.A.A. The event started yesterday, and Texas B.A.S.S. angler Keith Combs is the Day 1 leader with a stout 28-08 opening day bag. Mike Iaconelli is right on his heels, however, with a 26-12 lb. bag. Van Dam is taking it easy on the field, weighing just 15 lbs. on Day 1. Here is a summary of how it went down on Conroe: Six Sacks Over 20 - Combs Claims Day-1 Conroe Lead, Ike 2nd .
That's just about it from me today. Too many irons in the fire to spend too much more time on the computer. Before I sign off though you may want to mark your calendar, or enter a reminder on your cell phone, for the weekend of November 26. On that day, Rebel is taking registrations for a bass boat give away: Rebel contest: Win a boat .
And for the very last word, just a reminder that on Sunday, November 6, at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time ends in the United States. Spring ahead, Fall back an hour.
Well take care, and enjoy the weather today. It would be a great day to be out doing something other than raking leaves, but even that job is not too bad when the weather is nice.
October 29, 2011
The first snow of the year, that I've seen anyway.
Yes indeed, the frost has been on the pumpkin up in the Great Northwest Corner. The leaves are begrudgingly hanging on, so there are pockets of color yet. Each day though, we get showers of leaves falling.
I came up north to get some work done, and work is what I've been doing. Added to my list was a well pump issue as soon as we got here.
We sometimes just leave the well pump on if we think we are coming up regularly enough, and when we got here we had no water and weren't sure if we had shut the pump off last time we left. I went out to the well pit and could hear the pump running. When I opened it up and checked things out, the pump was so hot you really could hardly touch it. It was evening, so I shut it off, and when I got up the next day I called Walt Adams Well Digging and Repair from the Tear Drop ad flyer, which you can access from the main web page.
Walt came right out and diagnosed a tank valve as the culprit. I was worried with the lake as low as it is that my well may have gone dry. $3,500 for a well versus a $17 check valve, I can handle that.
I ran up to the Dublin General Store and picked one up and he installed it. Walt left, and shortly thereafter the pump began to run without shutting off again. I looked in the pit to see a tiny leak in the brass check valve coming off the main well pipe. I then had to make another trip up to Dublin and get a new check valve and a new nipple and a compression fitting. As I was back putting the new pieces in, the Cementman made an appearance and coached me through the repair. When the new pieces were installed, we turned on the water, and the pump still ran without shutting off.
While working on the the check valve I had bumped the new tank valve, and felt it move a bit. I suspected that it had loosened up just a tad, and sure enough, when when I tightened it the problem was solved. If that pump is sucking the tiniest amount of air, it won't build pressure. If you're working on a well pump you better be prepared to "Get angry" as Walt says, and make sure all the connections are as tight as you can get them.
That job completed, I took the rest of the day off. The next day, my handy and most capable brother-in-law Neal came to my carpentry rescue as I tried rebuilding a small roof over the back porch. He did in 30 minutes what would have probably taken me most of the day. I just don't do enough of that kind of work to know what the best engineering approach should be, and I spend way to much time in the contemplation phase of the project. Any how, we now have an almost completed roof that just needs some final touches. Thanks Neal!
When I got up this morning, I checked out some of my internet haunts. I wanted to see how the Everstart on Kentucky Lake was going. Yesterday was Day 2 of that event. I was interested to read whether guys were utilizing the new Alabama Rig was producing in the Kentucky Lake, Everstart event.
Andy Poss, the lure maker, was there with a trunk load of his new rigs right after the first practice day. He began selling them from his trunk and within minutes he had a line 120 anglers long. The FLW article I read that from also said that prior to Guntersville, they had about 8,000 hits on their Alabama Rig webpage . The other day, they were at 138,000 and climbing! Let's see that's $25 a pop for the rig, times a gazillion anglers wanting the rig, which equates to a rather substantial sum! I would have hated coming up with the lure. Can you imagine the tax problem you would have on all that profit.
It doesn't appear that the A-rig is making the type of difference it made on Guntersville. Some of the old traditional lures seem to be what are accounting for most of the fish there. Here is an article detailing the Day 2 Kentucky Lake results.
If you clicked on the Kentucky Lake article you found it took you to the FLW site. I still don't like how their site is set up and how their articles appear. I think the webmaster at B.A.S.S. should be given a raise for his or her work there. It's more appealing, easy to negotiate, and the pages are so much more crisp and easy to read. You'll also find that whenever you click on a link to FLW's site you are redirected from the site you're on and have to negotiate back to finish, say the blog, or whatever else you had been reading.
B.A.S.S. has picked up the Alabama Rig story, and they have had several articles on their website about it. Here is one of their more recent articles which gives some history on this freshwater take on an old saltwater device for triggering strikes. The piece also gives you the law on using a multiple bait hook in a number of states: "Alabama rig: History and law lessons ."
While at the B.A.S.S. site you might have visited KVD's blog. If you didn't, he has a new piece about the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, TTBC. Kevin talks about all the talent assembled for the Lake Conroe event. He also mentions how the draught stricken lake is seven feet low! He comments on all the structure that is visible and how locals are adding to it so that when the rains come and fill the lake to its normal pool, there will be even more structure. Here's a link to King Kong's Blog .
As Kevin described in his blog, the TTBC invites the best of the top three circuits, B.A.S.S. FLW, and the P.A.A. The event started yesterday, and Texas B.A.S.S. angler Keith Combs is the Day 1 leader with a stout 28-08 opening day bag. Mike Iaconelli is right on his heels, however, with a 26-12 lb. bag. Van Dam is taking it easy on the field, weighing just 15 lbs. on Day 1. Here is a summary of how it went down on Conroe: Six Sacks Over 20 - Combs Claims Day-1 Conroe Lead, Ike 2nd .
That's just about it from me today. Too many irons in the fire to spend too much more time on the computer. Before I sign off though you may want to mark your calendar, or enter a reminder on your cell phone, for the weekend of November 26. On that day, Rebel is taking registrations for a bass boat give away: Rebel contest: Win a boat .
And for the very last word, just a reminder that on Sunday, November 6, at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time ends in the United States. Spring ahead, Fall back an hour.