Author’s note: This is the final installment of the blog I started yesterday. It passes along some details about a visit my wife and I recently made to a reservoir that is now drained while repairs are made to the dam that normally holds water back to form the lake there. While it is dry, we have enjoyed exploring it in a way that is normally impossible.
I wish we had more time on today’s trip. I’d create my own fishing hotspot by dragging some logs into a pile along the drop-off where the basin suddenly slopes down into the main river channel. A few of the big rocks laying around would weigh the logs to keep them captive once the water level is allowed to return to normal levels.
This kind of spot quickly becomes attractive habitat for fish since it concentrates some good cover in a small area. Also, it would provide a current break against the constant flow of the river. By anchoring it on the slope that drops into the main channel, I would create a shallow side and a deeper side – about six feet below the surface up on the bank and fifteen feet deep at the base. This offers fish a piece of bottom structure that connects the extremes – something that experience shows they prefer.
Standing at the launch ramp that now leads only to a dry lakebed, I can see that most fishermen would head downstream like sheep following the rest of the flock. That is because the reservoir is wider in that direction and would appear deeper because the dam crosses the entire basin. By appearance, there is simply “more water” downstream, therefore – in most fishermen’s minds – more fish!
For this reason, I would build my underwater “fish condo” in the opposite direction - upstream - where it would likely go undetected by other anglers for several years. The water in this river is dark enough that the structure would not be visible by eye once the lake refills. An electronic fish locator would be necessary to pinpoint the exact location. That would be sure to help keep my spot a secret.
Of course, I would need some help finding it the first few times as well. For that reason, I would place a discreet marker on the shoreline slightly above the high water mark. Maybe I’d use a couple of the old stumps commonly available here. I could place one at the water’s edge and another some yards up on land so they lined up like rifle sights, pointing to the spot. No-one else would suspect their significance.
As for exactly where on the upstream side of the lake I would build this attractor, the choice is relatively simple: I’d choose a place that is currently devoid of cover – a place no natural competition exists. This creates a new opportunity for the local trout, walleyes, bass, pike, or perch to hide from the relentless current. A place where they can rest as they wait for natural water movement to drift a morsel or a minnow past them.
Placing structure on the bottom of reservoirs in this manner is a common practice in southern states where reservoirs with fluctuating water levels allow access when the lakes are drawn down annually. Similar lakes here in northern states seldom see changing levels so this strategy is not well known.
I’m going to talk to my life-long fishing pal Duane about going up later this fall to take on this project. We could trailer our all terrain vehicles to the reservoir to make pulling the logs together an easy chore. The structure we create could be useful year around, since both open water and ice fishing are practiced here. If we take on the project, I’ll let you how it goes in another blog.
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you on Monday 11-10.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
MOONSCAPE LAKE - PART ONE
MOONSCAPE – Part one
By: Ray Hansen
The scene was something like you might have seen on the 50’s television show “Death Valley Days”. Maybe that is before your time. Compare it to one of the desolate planets Spock and Captain Kirk visited before Kirk returned to Earth, retired from space exploration, and got a job as a partner in a law firm on Boston Legal (and James Spader took Spock’s place.
Vast open stretches of bare dirt spread out for thousands of yards in all directions. Strangely, it is lined with deep cracks as though it was a desert even though until recently it held millions of gallons of water. Sprinkled here and there are the skeletons of huge trees, whitened and split by exposure to the sun after many years submerged beneath the tannic stained water. Massive stumps squat silently in all directions, their roots spiraling off in a circle like so many octopi sitting on the ocean floor.
The site I’m describing is the reservoir formerly backed up behind the Boney Falls Dam, on the Escanaba River some miles upstream from my home. Now drained of water, it contains just a single thin river channel running through its center like a main artery snaking through a parched skeleton. The water level has been lowered so necessary repairs can be made to the dam that normally holds the river back.
The bottom of the reservoir – now exposed to the sun and wind for the first time in many years – holds traces of its history for those who can read the clues. Wearing high-top rubber boots and poking through the ruins, Kate and I find the remnants of a very old wicker basket style fishing creel. This is a kind of basket with a long shoulder strap that trout anglers once used to keep their catch fresh. Wet moss was placed in the container and fish placed on it. Cooling by evaporation helped keep them from spoiling. Indian tribes in this area also made baskets for various purposes, but theirs were fashioned from intricately woven and intertwined willow branches. The piece of basket we found was made of flat wooden strips. In any case, I’m certain the owner despaired losing it.
Signs of the old logging days lay settled into the drying sediment all around us. Big pine logs with hand-hewn notches near the cut ends spoke of smoky cook shacks dimly lit by oil lanterns. A pine pole with a neat row of branches, each cut cleanly at three inches, whispered that big, black cast iron skillets had been hung there through holes in the handles. A big horseshoe, rusted and thinned by so many seasons under water gave silent witness that three-quarter ton draft horses once stabled here. Look closer and maybe two faint lines would reveal the course of a logging trail etched into the ground by clydesdales, morgans, percherons, and belgiums straining against leather collars. These massively muscled horses pulled drays filled with logs so big two lumberjacks could not encircle them with their arms outstretched.
An old boat wedged between two big pine stumps drew our attention. It’s not ancient, but is a very early aluminum model in a long, narrow “johnboat” style. Vintage 1950’s I’d say. We wonder how it got here? It’s upside down. Does it speak of tragedy? The transom shows no evidence that an old green Johnson Sea Horse outboard motor was ever clamped there, so it must have been used as a rowboat.
Was it tethered to a small dock with an old hemp rope that gave way in a storm? Is there a skeleton in the mud beneath it? Did the wild wind and relentless river current push it against the stumps until it tipped enough to fill with water and slip beneath the surface? Well… at this point it is just the Escanaba River version of the Edmund Fitzgerald that was lost on nearby Lake Superior. The hull has been found but the story of its sinking remains a mystery.
End of part one – come back tomorrow for the conclusion of this blog. Thanks for reading!
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
By: Ray Hansen
The scene was something like you might have seen on the 50’s television show “Death Valley Days”. Maybe that is before your time. Compare it to one of the desolate planets Spock and Captain Kirk visited before Kirk returned to Earth, retired from space exploration, and got a job as a partner in a law firm on Boston Legal (and James Spader took Spock’s place.
Vast open stretches of bare dirt spread out for thousands of yards in all directions. Strangely, it is lined with deep cracks as though it was a desert even though until recently it held millions of gallons of water. Sprinkled here and there are the skeletons of huge trees, whitened and split by exposure to the sun after many years submerged beneath the tannic stained water. Massive stumps squat silently in all directions, their roots spiraling off in a circle like so many octopi sitting on the ocean floor.
The site I’m describing is the reservoir formerly backed up behind the Boney Falls Dam, on the Escanaba River some miles upstream from my home. Now drained of water, it contains just a single thin river channel running through its center like a main artery snaking through a parched skeleton. The water level has been lowered so necessary repairs can be made to the dam that normally holds the river back.
The bottom of the reservoir – now exposed to the sun and wind for the first time in many years – holds traces of its history for those who can read the clues. Wearing high-top rubber boots and poking through the ruins, Kate and I find the remnants of a very old wicker basket style fishing creel. This is a kind of basket with a long shoulder strap that trout anglers once used to keep their catch fresh. Wet moss was placed in the container and fish placed on it. Cooling by evaporation helped keep them from spoiling. Indian tribes in this area also made baskets for various purposes, but theirs were fashioned from intricately woven and intertwined willow branches. The piece of basket we found was made of flat wooden strips. In any case, I’m certain the owner despaired losing it.
Signs of the old logging days lay settled into the drying sediment all around us. Big pine logs with hand-hewn notches near the cut ends spoke of smoky cook shacks dimly lit by oil lanterns. A pine pole with a neat row of branches, each cut cleanly at three inches, whispered that big, black cast iron skillets had been hung there through holes in the handles. A big horseshoe, rusted and thinned by so many seasons under water gave silent witness that three-quarter ton draft horses once stabled here. Look closer and maybe two faint lines would reveal the course of a logging trail etched into the ground by clydesdales, morgans, percherons, and belgiums straining against leather collars. These massively muscled horses pulled drays filled with logs so big two lumberjacks could not encircle them with their arms outstretched.
An old boat wedged between two big pine stumps drew our attention. It’s not ancient, but is a very early aluminum model in a long, narrow “johnboat” style. Vintage 1950’s I’d say. We wonder how it got here? It’s upside down. Does it speak of tragedy? The transom shows no evidence that an old green Johnson Sea Horse outboard motor was ever clamped there, so it must have been used as a rowboat.
Was it tethered to a small dock with an old hemp rope that gave way in a storm? Is there a skeleton in the mud beneath it? Did the wild wind and relentless river current push it against the stumps until it tipped enough to fill with water and slip beneath the surface? Well… at this point it is just the Escanaba River version of the Edmund Fitzgerald that was lost on nearby Lake Superior. The hull has been found but the story of its sinking remains a mystery.
End of part one – come back tomorrow for the conclusion of this blog. Thanks for reading!
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
PROCESSING VENISON AT HOME - Final Part
Author’s Note: This is the last installment of the two-part series detailing some of the processing I did on the deer I killed while bowhunting recently. I’ve been seeing lots if deer exhibiting the early stages of the rut season in the past few days, and I’m set to spend some more time in a tree hoping to bring a nice buck into range.
THE BUMP AND GRIND
The grinding and stuffing we do is for the purpose of making sausage, bratwurst, and hamburger. We first determine how much hamburger we want. This time it was twenty pounds. That being the case, we bought ten pounds of beef hamburger and two pounds of pork suet. The mix is 50% venison, 50% beef, with an occasional pellet of suet tossed into the mix as it runs through the grinder.
For bratwurst, we mix equal parts of venison and pork roast, along with a pre-measured packet of dried seasonings. We soak some real pork casings (bought from a butcher) for an hour or so, then rinse them internally with clear, cold water. The seasoning is hand-mixed into the ground pork/venison mix then run through the grinder a second time with a tube attachment that holds the casing. As the casing fills it is twisted at six inch intervals to create a string of ‘brats.
FREEZE THE BRATS
Both the hamburger and brats are placed in ZipVac bags. A pound of ‘burger in a bag is about right. Duane likes to make three-quarter pound flat burger patties while I like one and one-quarter pound round portions. This meat is used for spaghetti sauce, hamburgers, chili-mac, or any dish normally requiring ground beef. The brats are packaged three to six in a bag.
The final chore is making sausage. This meat is ground in the same 50-50 pork/venison ratio, but Duane mixes dry seasonings and Liquid Smoke flavoring according to his own recipe.
Certain secrets will never be shared by a true “Yooper” (the name residents of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula use for themselves) and knowledge of the exact ingredients in Duane’s sausage mix is probably something he’ll take to the grave. I do know it contains things like mustard seed, garlic powder, curing salt, “soul” seasoning, onion flakes, small cubes of pepperjack cheese, and much more. Store-bought dry seasoning is also available pre-mixed, but I recommend getting creative with your own choices. If you are going to try something like this for the first time, try two radically different batches. Next time, fine tune the one you like best.
CASE CLOSED
The casings we use for sausage are dry and about two inches in diameter. They measure about three feet in length, and are stuffed using the grinder as for bratwurst, except that different blades are inserted into the machine and a larger outflow tube is used. They weigh about six pounds apiece when filled. These are cooked at a low temperature of 165 – 170 degrees for about six hours. Duane has cooked them in his home oven on past trips, but this time we dropped them off at a local butcher for cooking in his smokehouse.
Once again, we package the finished sausage into the vacuum-pack bags for longer term freezer storage after cutting them into six-inch lengths. I wrap each short piece in a “cling” type semi-clear film, press this film tightly across the cut ends, then bag and vacuum seal them.
So our 2008 hunt got off to a great start, and we had hands-on involvement with the entire process from “deer down” to stuffing the final sausage. This tradition is something we look forward to each year. New changes creep into the experience, like “tweaking” the seasonings and trying new gear. The biggest change this year was the addition of the ZipVac system and it was welcome discovery. It will be a standard item on future hunts. Check their website, www.zipvac.net for more details.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
THE BUMP AND GRIND
The grinding and stuffing we do is for the purpose of making sausage, bratwurst, and hamburger. We first determine how much hamburger we want. This time it was twenty pounds. That being the case, we bought ten pounds of beef hamburger and two pounds of pork suet. The mix is 50% venison, 50% beef, with an occasional pellet of suet tossed into the mix as it runs through the grinder.
For bratwurst, we mix equal parts of venison and pork roast, along with a pre-measured packet of dried seasonings. We soak some real pork casings (bought from a butcher) for an hour or so, then rinse them internally with clear, cold water. The seasoning is hand-mixed into the ground pork/venison mix then run through the grinder a second time with a tube attachment that holds the casing. As the casing fills it is twisted at six inch intervals to create a string of ‘brats.
FREEZE THE BRATS
Both the hamburger and brats are placed in ZipVac bags. A pound of ‘burger in a bag is about right. Duane likes to make three-quarter pound flat burger patties while I like one and one-quarter pound round portions. This meat is used for spaghetti sauce, hamburgers, chili-mac, or any dish normally requiring ground beef. The brats are packaged three to six in a bag.
The final chore is making sausage. This meat is ground in the same 50-50 pork/venison ratio, but Duane mixes dry seasonings and Liquid Smoke flavoring according to his own recipe.
Certain secrets will never be shared by a true “Yooper” (the name residents of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula use for themselves) and knowledge of the exact ingredients in Duane’s sausage mix is probably something he’ll take to the grave. I do know it contains things like mustard seed, garlic powder, curing salt, “soul” seasoning, onion flakes, small cubes of pepperjack cheese, and much more. Store-bought dry seasoning is also available pre-mixed, but I recommend getting creative with your own choices. If you are going to try something like this for the first time, try two radically different batches. Next time, fine tune the one you like best.
CASE CLOSED
The casings we use for sausage are dry and about two inches in diameter. They measure about three feet in length, and are stuffed using the grinder as for bratwurst, except that different blades are inserted into the machine and a larger outflow tube is used. They weigh about six pounds apiece when filled. These are cooked at a low temperature of 165 – 170 degrees for about six hours. Duane has cooked them in his home oven on past trips, but this time we dropped them off at a local butcher for cooking in his smokehouse.
Once again, we package the finished sausage into the vacuum-pack bags for longer term freezer storage after cutting them into six-inch lengths. I wrap each short piece in a “cling” type semi-clear film, press this film tightly across the cut ends, then bag and vacuum seal them.
So our 2008 hunt got off to a great start, and we had hands-on involvement with the entire process from “deer down” to stuffing the final sausage. This tradition is something we look forward to each year. New changes creep into the experience, like “tweaking” the seasonings and trying new gear. The biggest change this year was the addition of the ZipVac system and it was welcome discovery. It will be a standard item on future hunts. Check their website, www.zipvac.net for more details.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
PROCESSING VENISON AT HOME - Part one
Author’s Note: This two-part series will detail some of the processing I did on the deer I killed while bowhunting recently. Part two will run tomorrow.
TRIMMING, GRINDING, AND STUFFING
By: Ray Hansen
Cutting, trimming, grinding, and stuffing. Razor-sharp knives in experienced hands, slicing down to the bone. An entire deer that slowly becomes a skeleton before your eyes. Sounds like the plot for a Halloween horror classic, but it’s nothing macabre.
It’s all about turning venison on the deer into steaks that will sizzle, sensational smoked sausage, hearty hamburger, simmering slumgullion, a bounty of bratwurst, and a few other fine cuts that will warm the coming winter nights. Life-long friend Duane Deno of Gladstone, Michigan and I recently spent a couple days in an unheated pole barn doing just that. For us it is all part of the hunt – a part we choose to do ourselves rather than bringing the meat to a commercial processor.
I have nothing against bringing a deer in to have a butcher trim and package it. I’ve done it. Not all hunters however, have the knowledge, time, or equipment to handle this chore alone. Duane and I however – at least for the first deer we take in any season – like to process them ourselves.
So, on Monday and Wednesday of last week we went to work on the two big does we killed while bowhunting the week prior. It was a pleasure to tackle this chore.
HANG ‘EM HIGH
Step one is hauling the deer to the pole barn and hanging them to let the muscles relax and give the meat a little time to age. If tempertures remain around forty degrees we may let the deer hang several days. On this October hunt in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we skinned the deer immediately to get faster cooling since temperatures were borderline. After two days we started processing Duane’s 3 ½ year-old, 125 pound doe.
We work with four-inch and six-inch fillet knives just like those used on fish. Our goal is to cut meat cleanly away from the bone, one quarter at a time. Each slab is laid on a clean cutting surface where we trim away all fat, connecting tissues, membrane, and “silver skin” which is found on the surface of some of the muscles.
After initial trimming, we begin cutting steaks from the hindquarters, and building a side pile of smaller chunks of lean venison that will become stew meat or will be ground up. The steaks are cut across the grain, and shaping them is a matter of personal taste. Duane likes his thin and flat like a rib-eye. I like mine round and thicker like filet mignon. We have plenty of meat to work with so each gets his quota of preferred cuts.
DEEP FREEZE
This year we are trying a new approach to packaging meat, using the “ZipVac” system. This is a very simple yet effective way to handle venison, fish, or anything that benefits from vacuum-packing. Put the cut into the appropriate sized bag, zip the seal closed using finger pressure, then place a small hand-held vacuum pump over a valve built into the bag and remove the air. In a few seconds the bag collapses tightly around the meat and stays that way. Twist the valve a quarter turn to lock it and the venison is freezer ready. It sure beats the other methods I’ve used such as freezer paper.
As a side note, campers, travelers, backpackers, hunters, and others could use this style vacuum packing for anything they wanted to keep fresh or stay dry like granola, matches, scents used when hunting, and many, many other things.
Check this blog tomorrow for the final part of today’s blog. See you here!
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
TRIMMING, GRINDING, AND STUFFING
By: Ray Hansen
Cutting, trimming, grinding, and stuffing. Razor-sharp knives in experienced hands, slicing down to the bone. An entire deer that slowly becomes a skeleton before your eyes. Sounds like the plot for a Halloween horror classic, but it’s nothing macabre.
It’s all about turning venison on the deer into steaks that will sizzle, sensational smoked sausage, hearty hamburger, simmering slumgullion, a bounty of bratwurst, and a few other fine cuts that will warm the coming winter nights. Life-long friend Duane Deno of Gladstone, Michigan and I recently spent a couple days in an unheated pole barn doing just that. For us it is all part of the hunt – a part we choose to do ourselves rather than bringing the meat to a commercial processor.
I have nothing against bringing a deer in to have a butcher trim and package it. I’ve done it. Not all hunters however, have the knowledge, time, or equipment to handle this chore alone. Duane and I however – at least for the first deer we take in any season – like to process them ourselves.
So, on Monday and Wednesday of last week we went to work on the two big does we killed while bowhunting the week prior. It was a pleasure to tackle this chore.
HANG ‘EM HIGH
Step one is hauling the deer to the pole barn and hanging them to let the muscles relax and give the meat a little time to age. If tempertures remain around forty degrees we may let the deer hang several days. On this October hunt in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we skinned the deer immediately to get faster cooling since temperatures were borderline. After two days we started processing Duane’s 3 ½ year-old, 125 pound doe.
We work with four-inch and six-inch fillet knives just like those used on fish. Our goal is to cut meat cleanly away from the bone, one quarter at a time. Each slab is laid on a clean cutting surface where we trim away all fat, connecting tissues, membrane, and “silver skin” which is found on the surface of some of the muscles.
After initial trimming, we begin cutting steaks from the hindquarters, and building a side pile of smaller chunks of lean venison that will become stew meat or will be ground up. The steaks are cut across the grain, and shaping them is a matter of personal taste. Duane likes his thin and flat like a rib-eye. I like mine round and thicker like filet mignon. We have plenty of meat to work with so each gets his quota of preferred cuts.
DEEP FREEZE
This year we are trying a new approach to packaging meat, using the “ZipVac” system. This is a very simple yet effective way to handle venison, fish, or anything that benefits from vacuum-packing. Put the cut into the appropriate sized bag, zip the seal closed using finger pressure, then place a small hand-held vacuum pump over a valve built into the bag and remove the air. In a few seconds the bag collapses tightly around the meat and stays that way. Twist the valve a quarter turn to lock it and the venison is freezer ready. It sure beats the other methods I’ve used such as freezer paper.
As a side note, campers, travelers, backpackers, hunters, and others could use this style vacuum packing for anything they wanted to keep fresh or stay dry like granola, matches, scents used when hunting, and many, many other things.
Check this blog tomorrow for the final part of today’s blog. See you here!
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
HALF-DAY BOWHUNT: Final Installment
Author’s note: This is the final installment of the series I wrote detailing a half-day in the woods while bowhunting for deer. As I mentioned previously, I have already had a successful season, taking a 2 ½ year-old doe during late October. I’ll be out looking for a eight-point or better buck during the rifle hunting portion of this season (Nov. 15-30), and if I don't fill my remaining tag then, I’ll spend more time bowhunting until the archery season closes at the end of December.
I’ll see you tomorrow with a new blog.
PREDATOR AND PREY
The third deer in the group was hanging back while the others began browsing. It was small, and did not have the somewhat “sleek” look of a healthy deer during the autumn season. As it maneuvered closer I saw that it had recently been attacked by coyotes or wolves. Perhaps a mountain lion or one of the local black bears. Its sides were raked heavily as if by claws, the lower jaw was broken, and its tongue protruded out of its mouth sideways from the right side. Once in a while, deer survive an attack from these predators, and make an escape. The injuries could also have been caused by a vehicle, but we were so far away from the nearest road that I did not think this was the case. Even then, the closest roads are dirt and quite rutted. Twenty miles per hour is about top speed.
I decided to kill this deer if I could. I watched it try to eat with the others, but it could not bite effectively. It stayed out on the fringe of the group, and when it got closer the others would drive it away. Unfortunately (I guess) the injured deer walked away toward the east, and I had no opportunity to get a clear shot. That’s just the way it is when hunting with a bow.
10:05 a.m.: A buck fawn comes in from the northeast.
10:07 a.m.: A 2 ½ year old doe joins the small buck from the same direction. This animal is very sleek and in prime condition. She browses a little on the hill but acts more cautious than any of the other deer I have seen here. Looking in many directions, stopping frequently to swivel her ears all around, and circling to try to scent-check, it is going to take some luck to catch this one in position for a shot. It just does not happen. She moves off to the west and out of range before any chance comes up.
I have seen this deer pay close attention to something southeast of my spot while she was in my sight. Again, I’m hoping the buck I suspect is skulking around is what this doe is reacting to. Normally when deer circle some spot it is because they are trying to get downwind of something they want to scent check. Today has generally been calm so this strategy is not working well for them.
11:10 a.m.: I see some movement northwest of the stand, and assume it is deer. I use a soft doe bleat followed by a higher pitched fawn call to try to pull these animals in closer, but it doesn’t seem to work.
In the end, I stayed until about noon, but saw no more deer close enough to get a good look at. I took advantage of the lull in activity to climb down from my stand and quietly slip out of the woods. I have lots more time to hunt and I really enjoy being out in the woods in the generally warmer weather this October hunt took place in.
I saw more deer than usual today. I’ve spent many other half-day hunts in a tree when all the activity I watched consisted of birds, squirrels, rabbits, ravens, and other natural sights but no deer. When I go out into the woods I just never know what forest drama might play out. That sense of anticipation keeps things interesting
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
I’ll see you tomorrow with a new blog.
PREDATOR AND PREY
The third deer in the group was hanging back while the others began browsing. It was small, and did not have the somewhat “sleek” look of a healthy deer during the autumn season. As it maneuvered closer I saw that it had recently been attacked by coyotes or wolves. Perhaps a mountain lion or one of the local black bears. Its sides were raked heavily as if by claws, the lower jaw was broken, and its tongue protruded out of its mouth sideways from the right side. Once in a while, deer survive an attack from these predators, and make an escape. The injuries could also have been caused by a vehicle, but we were so far away from the nearest road that I did not think this was the case. Even then, the closest roads are dirt and quite rutted. Twenty miles per hour is about top speed.
I decided to kill this deer if I could. I watched it try to eat with the others, but it could not bite effectively. It stayed out on the fringe of the group, and when it got closer the others would drive it away. Unfortunately (I guess) the injured deer walked away toward the east, and I had no opportunity to get a clear shot. That’s just the way it is when hunting with a bow.
10:05 a.m.: A buck fawn comes in from the northeast.
10:07 a.m.: A 2 ½ year old doe joins the small buck from the same direction. This animal is very sleek and in prime condition. She browses a little on the hill but acts more cautious than any of the other deer I have seen here. Looking in many directions, stopping frequently to swivel her ears all around, and circling to try to scent-check, it is going to take some luck to catch this one in position for a shot. It just does not happen. She moves off to the west and out of range before any chance comes up.
I have seen this deer pay close attention to something southeast of my spot while she was in my sight. Again, I’m hoping the buck I suspect is skulking around is what this doe is reacting to. Normally when deer circle some spot it is because they are trying to get downwind of something they want to scent check. Today has generally been calm so this strategy is not working well for them.
11:10 a.m.: I see some movement northwest of the stand, and assume it is deer. I use a soft doe bleat followed by a higher pitched fawn call to try to pull these animals in closer, but it doesn’t seem to work.
In the end, I stayed until about noon, but saw no more deer close enough to get a good look at. I took advantage of the lull in activity to climb down from my stand and quietly slip out of the woods. I have lots more time to hunt and I really enjoy being out in the woods in the generally warmer weather this October hunt took place in.
I saw more deer than usual today. I’ve spent many other half-day hunts in a tree when all the activity I watched consisted of birds, squirrels, rabbits, ravens, and other natural sights but no deer. When I go out into the woods I just never know what forest drama might play out. That sense of anticipation keeps things interesting
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
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