November  17 th.  2009

 

Hi all,

 

Time for a update. I just made it home from a trip to Missouri where I visited my family and did some deer hunting. Before I left on the 7th. of Nov., the river was just starting to drop and clear. The fishing was good while I was gone and I missed it. I did manage a few days on the river with friends before leaving. On the 4th. I went out with Tommy and we hit a few each...5 for 7 on Steelhead and on the 5th. I went with Martin Downey pluggin on the Manistee and we did very well up there with 4 for 7 on Steel, 3 Kings, and a bunch of smaller browns. Even though the water was high and dirty we still were able to catch fish both days. The next day was spent packing and then off to MO.

 

Most of my life was spent living in Michigan but almost all of my family is from Missouri. I spent a enormous amount of time and a better part of my childhood down there. Enough that I would consider myself from down there in a lot of ways. I grew up riding calves, farming, herding cows, riding horses, working on a horse farm. Then I found construction and worked for Wallside Windows and settled into that for a long time (17 years) until my wife and I bought the lodge.

 

The reason for bringing all this up was that my trip always stirs up all those very long ago childhood memories. I stayed with my grandma who is doing quite well for a 87 year old woman who lives in her farm house, still drives to town, shops, and still gets up before me every morning to cook bacon and eggs. In the afternoons she made me beef roast, mashed potatoes etc. and my favorite fresh rolls and homemade cream cheese chocolate chip cookies. 10 days of grandmas hospitality was great ..Thank You Grandma.. Wish I would have taken a few pictures of the farm to share..

 

My Deer hunt was great !! The first 2 days were spent scouting and setting up stands and wetting a line fishing for catfish. Yes, "catfish" when I was a kid and the ponds were being kept up. We had no problem filling a 5 gallon bucket of "Blue Cats" .. The ponds are full of catfish but they just lack a feeding program to porky them up to eating size.. On the 3rd. day I had my first hunt.. 15 min. after putting out some "doe in heat" scent out and climbing into my stand I had a large frame 8 just out of bow range hit one of the scrapes and didn't go down the hill towards me and to the other scrapes which would have given me a great shot. Then I saw 5 doe's a few hours after that. Then another diff rent large 12 point with white on his back came by but picked up on my scent and stopped at 15 yards facing me did a 180 pivot and was out of there walking by skirting me 30 yards out threw brush like he knows I had a bow & arrow.. That was the morning hunt. In the evening I saw the 12 point and a smaller 8 point that reminded me of a deer around here..A great first day and I still had 3 other stands to hunt.. 

 

I saw the 12 point a total of 6 times in 5 days of bow hunting. I saw the large frame 8 point 3 times in the 5 days. Any one of those days both bucks were easy gun shots. On the 4 th. day I had the 12 point at 25 yard broad side but he wouldn't give me a chance to draw back with both eyes locked in my direction and a nose full of my scent I passed trying the shot. I never got that buck. He had a white line across his back, I would guess it was from a healed wound..I bought a gun tag and do you think I would see either one of them.. You guessed it NO.. They were in gun range many diff rent time while bow hunting..I did get a doe on the 4 th. day she went around 70 yards and dropped. Shot was good tracking was easy and I was ready for mister big..

 

The next morning 5 th. day and last day of the bow season. I set the trap hitting 7 different scrapes on my way to the stand with "doe in heat" I heard a loud grunt and rolled my eyes to the field and here was a heavy 12 point one I haven't seen yet chasing a doe. He chased the doe out of site up a oakridge. 30 min. later he hit my trap and followed it 5 yards by the stand. I drew my bow at 10 yards and then at 15 yards I grunted loudly at him to stop him and it worked !! I lined up the shot. He was walk-in almost dead away barely quartering. I put the shot right behind his last rib going forward. He hit the ground at 40 yards and stumbled a few more times and didn't last 50 yards. He's the buck of my bow hunting lifetime so far. I didn't know it was the big 12 from the field I just knew it was BIG either the heavy 8 or the big 12 I just saw, was my guess.. I field dressed him and I put cupid's arrow threw his old heart. That is the second buck I did that to. The other was a broad side shot 6 point, this one was just good luck or great geometry instincts.

 

After checking him in, and showing him off just a little I went to get my gun tag to try to bag the heavy 8 or the 12 with the white stripe back. I saw neither of them in the 2 days of gun season but I did see a lot of deer on the gun opener 12 does and 5 different scrub bucks.. It was a great hunt I saw 3 different coveys of Quail walked right under my stand, 6 Turkeys ( no shots), and Coyote( no shots)..

 

A word of WARNING to anyone going to MO. to gun hunt you must have your hunters safety ## WITH YOU if you were born after 1967. I had taken hunters safety but the good old Michigan DNR didn't keep any record of it from 1984 -85 era  and my old card was toilet paper just a few years after hitting my wallet. So if you try to buy a gun deer or small game your out of luck. I went threw most of my family before I rode the coattails of a younger cousin Mark that had completed a hunter safety course and I was a apprentice hunter under his supervision. The whole thing especially the part of the Michigan DNR being absolutely 0 help with there awesome record keeping was testing all of my patients to say the least. I had 1 wrong on my written test, hit all the targets at Westren Wanye Gun Club the instructor was Bill Miller and it was at Northville high school. All of which didn't matter just the ##'s please is all they wanted. Proof of hunting lic. from Michigan didn't help. I told them I had bought licence's all over( Nebraska, Iowa, Arzonia) and never had so much trouble spending $$$ 225 bucks to be exact in my life trying to be a legal hunter. Just another life lesson I guess...Might  un- hospitable of them toward out of state hunters to say the least..

 

That was most of my hunt in a nut shell. The river out back could use a little water to stain things up and bring up some more new dumb fish that haven't seen a fisherman yet and make things easier. Hook -up ## are going down as fish are getting smarter and with the clear water..They are still there to catch but your drifts have to be good and stealthy along with your leaders. I will be hitting the lower PM water tomorrow to scout the river a bit and maybe the Manistee the next day with my friend Martin.

 

I hope everyone is having a great deer season and has caught a Steelhead or two this November. If you haven't get out there it's a great time of year and the 4 letter word starting with "S" will be here soon so our nice weather is on borrowed time ...

 

Anyone looking to chase Fall Steelhead, Trout , Coho or Kings Salmon (while they last)... I'm going to offer a deal from now, October 10th. till March 15th. 2010.. Half day trips for $ 225 (up to 2 people) save $ 25 OR  a free nights lodging with any Full Day trips of $350 (up to 2 people) shore lunch included...My calender is wide open..Give us a call and let me put you on some fish and put a smile back on your face.. Fly's or Spin Gear your choice..

Tight Lines & Shoot to Kill

 

Clint