2010 Rifle Buck

Was a cold windy day on the opening morning. Decided the night before that Mark would sit by the stock dam on Virg's and I would go somewhere else. Well I wasn't feeling good when I awoke, so I merely went behind my dads place and just sat in my vehicle and watched the draw from about 7-8. Saw one deer, then proceeded to drive around a bit....... swung by Mark and saw him headed to his truck. Mark and I decided to push through a couple of draws on Virg's ground and had no luck. Drove to my dads place and saw a deer coming from the North headed into the draw....... Then we planned on how to work the draw....... decided to push it into the wind. Well didn't make it 20yards up the draw and I saw a doe bedded down. Decided not to shoot...... thinking there was a buck bedded down too. Good thing another few yards and I saw this buck bedded down..... so I let him have it with the .30-06! And missed...... 3 deer bolted from the corn/brush.... I figured one was the buck so I wind sprinted to the end of the corn to try and get a look...... but of course deer were halfway across the field by then. Mark lobbed a shot.... and I turned around and began to head back to the truck. But at that same instance I saw the buck... not 20 yards in front of me just a starring right at me. I put him in the scope, decided he was big enough and let him have it again! Mark was confused at this point... wondering why I was aiming and then shooting in the opposite direction the deer had just run......and totally surprised when I yelled big buck down! A 20 yard shot with a .30-06 lets a buck like this run about 5 yards before it falls dead. Best I can figure I ran within 7 yards of this buck after the first shot... kind of weird that he never bolted...... must have sensed my great hunt and stalk skills!

Another Des Moines River Walleye

Chellie and I closed the cabin this past weekend, but I had a chance to go to the dam with a buddy and caught this nice 22" walleye along with a couple smaller ones in a little less than an hour. The nice part is people around there and at the bate shop say the fishing is dead there lately, yet I've managed to catch something there every time I've gone out. I actually stopped today to check the cabin over the noon hour and spent about 30 minutes fishing (in my suit!). Two guys were leaving and they said nothing was biting. Undeterred, I went to my honey hole and caught a 16" walleye after about 15 minutes!

I don't know if it's the secret, but I use a 1/8oz jig with a white gulp minnow body and no bait. Everybody I've seen there just reels in slowly. I actually jig it in and always get the hit on the drop. I love fall fishing, but now it's time to concentrate on duck and pheasant hunting. But I do hope to get back to the dam next week over a noon hour again.

We Kansans Do Antelope Too!

Christian had an antelope tag for area 32 in Wyoming, a great bargain for a youth hunter at about 150 bucks.
Christian and I and a friend put the stalk on a few, and got to about 4-500yds, too far for Christian to shoot, but the fella with us gave it a try, and missed. the antelope moved off. About an hour later we got to within about 220yds of a small buck, Christian tried but also missed. About an hour later, they moved off over a hill- we followed. we crested the ridge and I couldd see antelope a long way of, but suddenly there was a buck at about 100yds moving uphill towards us. We crept to the edge of the hill on our bottoms, but Christian just couldn't see him. I determined to just wait a second and he was coming right up the hill to us, which he did. Christian dropped him at 53 yds right in his tracks- he was really excited. The other fella got his antelope in the same area the next day- Christians buck measures in at 11 inches- seems "The Specialist" does it again. I am worried about him(TK)- if he really deer hunts, he could be the next deer king at this rate! Next year we'll look for the 12.6 buck. But Tim is right, they are difficult to judge.

Harding County Antelope

Getting this up a little late, but was busy fishing as you can see below. We finally worked it out this year to go out opening weekend this year. Weather was good, but windy on Saturday. Mark got his buck on Saturday afternoon. We saw them about a mile and a half from the road and the plan was for Mark to put the stalk on, get seen, and they would run toward me laying on a butte another mile away. Well, Mark got to within 400 yds without being seen and decided to take a shot figuring if he missed, our plan would still work. He adjusted for wind and distance and gut shot the goat. We both could see it was lethal and he figured he could get his doe tag filled at the same time, so he did. Nice shootin', Tex!

No luck for me on Saturday, however I did manage to slam my thumb in the truck door getting out to put a stalk on. The nail should fall off in the near future. Ouch!

Sunday morning we went back out and saw a buck with two does about a half mile from the road, just over a knoll that would give me a pretty easy stalk to within a couple hundred yards. Make the stalk and only had to belly crawl about 20 yards to the top of the knoll. When I got to the top, the grass was too tall for using my bipod on the shortest setting. Even fully extended, I saw mostly grass through the scope. The buck looked a long way out so I raised up a bit on the aim. I fired and got nothing! Tried again with the same result. Just before I shot there was a lot of gunfire in the distance, and my shots must've blended in because the antelope were on alert, but didn't know where to run. I ended up missing again, reloading and getting really pissed. So, I just sighted right on him and let it go. He was kinda quartered to me, but I did hit where I was aiming. Dropped him without so much as a kick as he hit the ground.

After dropping him, we extimated that he was only 200+ yards out. Tough to tell when you're looking through grass without much experience.

We dragged him to the road and just got done taking a couple pictures when the DNR officer showed up. He checked the tags on our goats and we asked if he would take our picture. He did and then got his camera and snapped a couple for himself. Who knows, maybe Mark and I will be on the cover of next year's hunting atlas.

We decided to donate the animals to "Hunter's for Hunger" and are getting european mounts done on our bucks. All in all, a great weekend. We love the country out there. Truly beautiful! Can't wait until next year. By the way, Mark's goat antlers measured 10.5" and mine was 12.5". Guess that means I get to add more "bling" to my hunting shirt!

Selkirk 2010

Well it was a tough year to fish the Red River this time. We tried it on day one and only two sauger were caught (and some huge bullheads).

Days 2-4 were much better as we fished Traverse Bay in Pine Falls. Fishing in Pine Falls meant driving about an hour each way (got up really early and got home pretty late each day). We voted before going out on Wednesday to start the annual fishing tournament on that day instead of sticking to the 3 day tournament. Good thing for Brian (he won) because I would have crushed the competition otherwise. I ended up losing by a slim 3/4" margin. I've posted the results below. Now, you tell me. Who had the best year this year?

Anyway, the weather was great, winds light, sun high and fishing pretty steady in the mornings. Orlan did battle with what had to be a HUGE sturgeon on Friday. He caught one later that morning (pictured above) that was a master at 46.5". We figure the first one had to be at least 18" to 24" bigger. Both Brian and Adam latched on to one later that day, but didn't get them to the boat.

Here are this year's results. Enjoy!

Orlan Tim Mark Adam Brian Bard

Day 1 0 0 12 0 14 0
Day 2 29.25 24.5 23.25 16.5 18.5 20

Day 3 19.25 20.5 21.5 20.5 21 22.5

Day 4 22 28.75 10 15 21 15.5

Ave 17.63 18.44 16.69 13 18.63 14.5

We caught these walleyes on Saturday afternoon during "adults only" weekend at the cabin. Caught these pitching jigs with twister tails below the dam at the head of the DesMoines river.

It's important to note that everyone in this picture contributed to the stringer. I've fished there a several times and usually pick up at least one nice walleye each time.

Des Moines River Walley

I caught this 18.25 inch walley in two feet of water about three feet from shore w/ jig and minnow. Tim got a tip from a cabin neighbor that they have been catching walley at the spill over dam. We went down there and on my second cast I caught this walleye. My eyes were surprised when I seen this eye come out of the water. Tim caught a few small perch and a bullhead and was very jealous. But Tim claims he caught a few more this week but no proof, as always... Does he really have a job?

Pickstown Walleye

Had a good day on the big MO. A couple shy of our limit. Pulled plugs along the shore w/ planer boards. Ran one up shallow, one out the back and ran one deep. We were getting a little impatient since we didnt get our first fish in the boat until 12:30pm. After a front blew through it got HOT and fish stopped biting and it was time to get off the water and go home.

Clearwater Lake, Ontario Canada

Here are a few pics from Canada this year. We (Brad G. Family) went to Canada with mom and dad. Fishing was good from 7:30pm - dark. The rest of the day was spent R&R, picking berries, doing shore lunch, etc. Pictured here is dad's 1st of TWO 28" walleye, my pike, and a mess of fish my family caught one night. It was fun to see Zoe catch walleye on her own. I also caught my first muskie on this trip but never got a pic. The only species that I tried for and did not catch was lake trout. I deep trolled for them and never got any hits. Caught some nice fish off the dock as well.

Here are some of the catches at the cabin so far this year. All of these were caught from the dock. The crappie that Chellie caught was just over 15" long, making it a trophy. I did bait the hook, so it's half mine, right? However, I did catch the trophy bullhead, for what it's worth.

Finally, the snapping turtle was caught on a minnow on a slip bobber. It was estimated at 22lbs plus. Exciting time bringing that one in. I gave it to a neighbor at the lake who eats them. He said there is 7 kinds of meat in a snapper.

More Summer Bass

This is a couple of fish that me and a buddy caught. His was in the 4-5pd range. We have started a weekly fishing outing for the summer. We fish smaller bodies of water around N.W. IA. (sand pits, lakes, rivers). We keep track of conditions, # of fish caught, and largest fish. Who ever catches the most fish gets the win. It has been alot of fun so far. Like my new hat? Sure does keep the sun of my bald head.

Summer Bass Fishing

These were some nice bass caught at a sand pit near Hudson SD. The bass pictured are the average size bass with a select few pushing 2-3pounds. It's rumored that bass of 6-8 pounds exist in this sand pit. I also caught a nice crappie. As you can see Wyatt can catch fish bigger than his dad. Sorry Brian, I can't help but make fun of you every chance I get. Jacob and Zoe were along but spent most of their time tangling lines and eating candy. We enjoyed a supper of hot dogs and chips over a fire that put a nice touch to the night.

Ice Fishing at the Refuge

Went ice fishing up by Waubay in South Dakota on the annual trip with guys from church. We fished the refuge up there. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the refuge (not that we could've driven on it anyway because of the snow) so we had to pull shacks out to the fishing spot. We trudged through snow that was pretty deep. It was the kind of snow that when you step, you think you will just walk on top of it, but then you'd break through. We walked and pulled our gear about a half mile this way! It was brutal and I could really feel the burn on the thighs. Made me realize how out of shape I really am. We did this two days in a row.

Anyway, you can see the work was worth it. About 10:30 on the first morning Jason, the other guy in the picture above caught a 7 pound 1 oz walleye on a tip-up. That was the biggest walleye but we caught a 17" and 19" as well. Fishing was slow at times but we managed to get 15 or so perch like the ones above over the two days. We added many smaller ones as well to make quite a few good meals. Mark N. went too and, really, we were the only two shacks that caught any fish to speak of.

Of course, the equipment we used made the difference if you ask me. The following is on my Christmas list for next year: Vexilar FL-20 (it's like cheating to see exactly how far off the bottom to fish), a Voyager ice shack (room for 5 holes and two large guys to move around in), and an underwater camera (most of the perch caught didn't even pull on the line, the only way you could catch them was by watching them bite and then setting the hook).

Awesome time with a good group of guys, even though Mark drank all the beer on the ice and never offered me one.

UNDISUPUTED Turkey Champ 2009

I got sick of looking at Big Louie, so wanted to honor my partner from last year & get pumped for Turkey! What a day. Mark and I set up the big luxurious blind and stretched out to watch the daily turkey parade at you know where. It began with an empty field, I had seen the turkeys that morning leave and head up to the road. Like clockwork, they came out by the old barn, at least 30 turkeys. They came a runnin but mostly gave the blind the evil turkey eye and stayed away. Some hens got close, and one Tom for some reason actually started a B-line for our dekes for some reason, but was his interest was interrupted by a group of jakes that intercepted him and beat him away by numbers, and then he seemed to forget about us. Not long after, Mark took a peek behind us as the turkey moved to our right, and told me there was a big tom moving in the trees. We turned around, and Mark said he couldn’t shoot because of some trees, I had a clear shot and he was rapidly departing gun range. I fired and hit the turkey, and he moved a few feet where mark could shoot, and he dropped him. My shot was merely a little help to get him in plain view, as a master turkey guide, you can do things like that! Waidmansheil!

Big Louie Passes On

It was 9 DEC, 9 degrees, with about 6 inches of fresh snow, and a light? Breeze. I crawled up in my tree stand and put my blanky over me, wondering with all my bulk if I would be able to adequately see behind me. At about 4:00pm, I looked over the creek about 90 yds away, and down from a ridge I saw a deer coming straight down to the creek and headed in my direction. He was in some small saplings, head down, I recognized him as a small 8 pointer I’d seen 10 OCT, not a shooting deer. Up on the ridge behind him I saw another deer moving, and could see with my eye he had horns and they were larger than the 8. I looked thru my glass- and immediately saw a double pointed drop tine- Big Louie shows his face in daylight.! I have photographs of Big Louie- about 4-5, starting 5 Sep in velvet, and a nice shot about 15 NOV I’ve also attached. Big Louie followed the path of the 8 pointer, and they crossed over the creek to me about 50 yds and stopped, looking around. Big Louie looked straight up at me for about a solid minute- I thought I was busted, tried not to breath for fear he’d see my steam, but chose blowing thru my mouth like a whistle to lessen it, also wondering if my fingers retained the dexterity to draw my bow after the exposure. A squirrel danced across the bottom and diverted his attention; he never looked at me again, or any other human being for that matter. The small 8 went over to him and licked his face a few times over and over, then they gently racked their heads, & Big Louie moved out. He went behind a dead branch at about 30 yds, and I drew, he kept walking but away, so I made my best grunt call with my mouth- he stopped, I released- bingo! My SHOT was back a bit(maybe 6 inches) the arrow sticking out of him as he ran away. It was 4:10. The 8 pointer just looked at me for about 2 minutes before running off. I came back about an hour and a half later, Big Louie only made it about 100yds before collapsing. It was nice to know Big Louie- Christian and I mulled over his photographs and dreamed all fall, now it is a reality.

Orlan's Pheasants Trifecta

Thanksgiving morning could not have been better. The weather was beautiful, cool with the sun shining, one I will not forget in a long time.
For a 61 year old guy with a 9 year old dog, well it is not often that a person gets to shoot a triple, but that is just what this is.
I have hunted this draw for 45 years, went to the back where the cover is the best. Babe was birdie immediately, I saw the grass moving ahead of me when the 1st bird went right, one shot and it dropped, Babe went to retrieve it when the 2nd one went left, one shot and about the time I saw it hit the ground #3 went straight ahead. Well this is the easiest shot and of course I missed the first shot but dropped it with the second. Babe dropped the bird she was retrieving and went for the 3rd bird, I went and got # 2 when Babe brought me #3. I took the bird from her and told her to "find the bird", she went right over to where she had dropped the 1st and brought it to me, I had my tripple in hand.

It was maybe the finest morning hunting I have had in a long time, a guy just does not get to shoot that many triples in his life time and when they go perfect, well that is a bonus and why we hunt those beautiful birds that the Good Lord created. "Thank you Lord"

Bards IA Bow Buck

Wow! What a memorable day this was. I get to hunt on this property one day a year, deer heaven. This is 1 mile to the south west of the recliner Im sitting in now. Its a ravine wash out with steep banks on both sides(deer funnel) that runs east to west and stands are all set up for N.W. winds but winds were from the south. So I had to set up on the North side of the ravine on the ground(I wasn't that far off where I wanted to be). I took my turkey chair and that leafy fake branches you jerks all made fun of me at one of the turkey hunts. I sat in my turkey chair,covered in the fake leafy branches, for the first hour and got busted by a small buck at 10yards. So-I logically decided that I need to abondone the fake leafy branches and stand up against the tree to not get silouetted. So I proceeded to stand up against the tree for the next 3 hours--This is where I started to loose concentration and then all of a sudden the deer shown in this post appeared. I did calculate my yardage if a deer walked by on the path that it did. I shot and hit the deer hard w/ my 40yd pin, the deer ran half way up the steep ravine, stood there a moment like it wasnt feeling good. Started to sway back and forth like it was dizzy and then crashed. On the way down it got its rack caught in some roots and hung there. Right now Im Enjoying a piece of home made deer jerky (had to throw half of it away) and MGD light as I write this-does it get any better???

Duck Opener

What a great way to start our process of collecting our livery meat! Gorgeous day, Hot sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits in the blind, mostly cooperative birds, and a really fine duck blind!

Sucker

My brother called and wanted me to post this picture of his trophy sucker he caught. He caught it with a left over piece of corn from lunch. "Corn Call"

Bling Bling - Champ 2009

Attached is the reason why I have defended my Championship. Selkirk was tough fishing conditions this year and safe to say it takes a real solid angler to stay focussed enough to catch a big fish like this one (28.5 inches, 9-10pds). I caught this sow on the Storm version of a mimmic minnow. By the end of the second day I think everyone was fishing with mimmic minnows. My brother was using a bait that was bigger than some of the sauger we were catching and he actually caught a few nice walleye on it. BIG bait=BIG fish.

Early Season Goose

This a the result of our early goose season hunt on Adam VZ's patch. He did a great job of building this "natural" looking blind.

It was effective, however. The only thing that kept us from limiting out was poor shooting, of course. I know for me, once I dropped the first one I was shooting at, I just flock shot at the rest. A bad habit that is typical for me on the first hunt of the year. Oh well! It was a great time. Love that first hunt of the year and the fun has just begun!

Shetek Walleyes

I put Brad on these walleyes at Shetek last weekend. We were trolling with shallow diver #5 shad raps in about 5-7 feet of water. We varied trolling speeds and Brad had out at least 150' of line.

We went out the next morning too, but the only action was Brian snagging a carp in the dorsal fin. A nice fight, but not exactly what we were looking for. I am heading back this week. Hopefully things improve and bigger/more walleyes are yet to be caught. But, still and nice job by Bard!

Colorado Trout

Was out in Colorado Springs for a work meeting and found an extra day to stay and do some fly fishing for the illusive rainbow trout. A friend of mine from there chouffered me around to different spots. I learned a ton from him about presentation and what flies to use when. Average fish was about 14 inches but fites like a 23 inch walleye. Great weather, awesome scenory, and catching fish, doesnt get much better than that. Its the same thing with trout, fish early and late and not so hard in between.

Dove hunt 2009

The morning dove hunt for 2009 was the best 53 minutes of dove hunting I’ve ever experienced. You either shot your limit or ran out of shells or both. We hunted over some prepared sunflower seed field’s and I was limited by 7:18. I ten became bird boy and gun reloader for Christian, who finished his limit55 minutes later, and 7 boxes of shells later! My thumb was blistered from reloading the 870. Theres 45 doves in the pic, it included Troys birds, he finished early too. We had 7 other guys, and as I said they either shot their limit or ran out of shells!

Katherines Africa Hunt

We chased Blue wildebeest around for days, Christian and I could never get close enough, and when they ran- man, what a noisethey made! Easy to track if you felt you could get another chance. Katherine, the guid and I went to the range to see if she could still shoot well enough after not hunintg for 3 years. After one shot- the guide said, “I feel sorry for the wildebeest.”
We walked about 1 hour- and as we crossed over a huge rock, we spotted them from about 1000m away. Katherine made a good stalk while I filmed from the rocks. She got close- about 50m and Katherine dropped him with one perfect shot with the CZ 500 .308 Win. After the shot, the remaining animals ran right over the rock by me, made for some good filming. I didn’t feel sorry for the wildebeest- he tasted good. This animal seemed so ugly on TV and in books, but was really quite beautiful and will make a fine mount-………. in Katherine’s home!