TOUGH DRAGS
By: Ray Hansen
As I write this piece I’m preparing to head out into the woods again tomorrow with a muzzleloader. By the time you read this I will have hiked out a mile or so in the frigid pre-dawn weather, picked a good spot, and have been sitting for a number of hours waiting for an eight-point buck to slip by in range (that is what I have tags for). And I’m going to love every second of it! The following paragraphs detail some challenges I’ve in the past getting deer out of the woods after the shot.
“I’m getting too old for this” I told myself as I pulled the big doe along using a rope attached to a shoulder harness. Dry, snowless ground made this part of the hunt a real challenge. Four or five steep ridges and a lot of flat ground stood between me and where I parked. On the steepest parts I could only manage ten feet at a time before resting. Even downhill sections were tough after a while. Several hours passed before I was able to load the large animal into my pickup. This deer was taken on a hunt in Illinois where walking in and dragging your deer out was the only option.
Of course getting the animal out of the woods is part of the hunt. I might gripe about it a little, but secretly, I’m glad I can still do it.
Sometimes the chore is made simpler with machinery. I keep an old 1981 Honda All-Terrain Vehicle in a friend’s shed here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where I hunt each year. What a great piece of engineering! It always starts (with a pull rope), gets me out into the woods quickly, and does a workhorse of a job when pulling deer out of the swamp.
My friend Duane Deno of Gladstone, Michigan also keeps an old (1978) Honda handy when we hunt. It is a very small – 90 c.c. – machine, but therein lies its utility. It can get in and out of spots that larger ATV’s can’t access.
One year I arrowed a deer on a bow-hunt in which we had to cross a one-hundred yard stretch of flooded swamp using hip boots. The footing was treacherous, and we dreaded trying to drag the deer across that beaver-flooded, marshy pot-hole.
Using some “Yooper” ingenuity however, Duane and I devised a solution. He rode his machine back into the woods to the last of the high ground before it dropped into the swamp. Using several odd lengths of rope we scrounged, we managed to create a piece long enough to span the worst part of the waterway. I am not exaggerating when I say the rope we pieced together was all of three hundred feet long. Tying one end to the Honda and the other end to the deer, he took off, skidding the doe across the water like it was water-skiing. We’ve had many good laughs about that incident over the years, and it will always be a good story to tell around the campfire.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
COYOTES IN THE COLD
Author's Note: We have had another mild blizzard here in the Upper Peninsula. The snowfall was not excessive, but the blowing created a lot of drifting. I got stuck up in Rock, Michigan near the Delta County/Marquette County line, but I'm back today. I've been hearing coyotes howling in the woods near me recently, and that prompted today's blog. I hope you enjoy reading it.
COYOTES IN THE COLD
Slim Pickings in January Alters Behavior
By: Ray Hansen
I’ve encountered coyotes in the wild for many years in settings from suburbia to the Sylvania Wilderness Area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. One of the most informative meetings we’ve had however, was while I ice-fished Mallard Lake in Bloomingdale, Illinois just west of Chicago. I believe I observed two adult coyotes teaching two juveniles how to forage for food when times are tough. This is what I saw:
January always brings some lean times for scavengers like coyotes. Most rodents are hidden deep in brush cover, birds are present only in small numbers, roadkill is rare, vegetation is scarce, and food in general is hard to find.
I had the lake to myself on this day, and my intention was to catch bluegills and crappies. I augered a series of holes in deep water not far off shore in the lake’s northwest corner. Before long I was catching small ‘gills and releasing them back into the water.
I noticed a coyote slip out of the brushy shoreline cover to the east and walk across the ice while keeping an eye on me. Another canine joined it shortly thereafter. Later they both re-entered the heavier cover along shore and I lost track of them.
Before long I watched as the two reappeared, this time with two smaller coyotes in tow. They positioned themselves at four locations – like compass points – surrounding me at a distance of about one-hundred yards away. Slowly, step by step, they converged on me from the four different directions. This seemed like a classic hunting strategy, but I really found it hard to believe they were targeting me. I think perhaps these brush-wolves had previously found small fish lying on the ice where other anglers had tossed them. They just wanted to see if I was leaving any for them.
The largest coyote approached closest. He (I’m assuming this was a male) stopped about thirty yards away, standing on a sand / gravel shoreline. There, he made what seemed to be at least a mildly aggressive maneuver by pawing and kicking sand and small rocks out onto the ice toward me like a dog will sometimes do.
At that point I stood up and banged my auger on the ice once, causing the coyotes to slink away. I stayed another couple hours, and caught glimpses of the animals at times, but they made no further close approaches.
Seems to me the adults were showing the young ones how a small pack should close in on potential prey. Of course that is just my interpretation. I did not feel threatened by their actions. I didn’t leave them any fish either. I do not think showing coyotes that humans can provide feeding opportunities is a good idea. Some people learn the hard way that leaving dog food in their backyards for coyotes simply teaches them that feeding opportunities exist where dogs are found. They’ll eat the dog food alright, and have the dog (or cat) for dessert. Local newspapers carry stories about snatched pets every year – especially during the toughest part of winter.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
COYOTES IN THE COLD
Slim Pickings in January Alters Behavior
By: Ray Hansen
I’ve encountered coyotes in the wild for many years in settings from suburbia to the Sylvania Wilderness Area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. One of the most informative meetings we’ve had however, was while I ice-fished Mallard Lake in Bloomingdale, Illinois just west of Chicago. I believe I observed two adult coyotes teaching two juveniles how to forage for food when times are tough. This is what I saw:
January always brings some lean times for scavengers like coyotes. Most rodents are hidden deep in brush cover, birds are present only in small numbers, roadkill is rare, vegetation is scarce, and food in general is hard to find.
I had the lake to myself on this day, and my intention was to catch bluegills and crappies. I augered a series of holes in deep water not far off shore in the lake’s northwest corner. Before long I was catching small ‘gills and releasing them back into the water.
I noticed a coyote slip out of the brushy shoreline cover to the east and walk across the ice while keeping an eye on me. Another canine joined it shortly thereafter. Later they both re-entered the heavier cover along shore and I lost track of them.
Before long I watched as the two reappeared, this time with two smaller coyotes in tow. They positioned themselves at four locations – like compass points – surrounding me at a distance of about one-hundred yards away. Slowly, step by step, they converged on me from the four different directions. This seemed like a classic hunting strategy, but I really found it hard to believe they were targeting me. I think perhaps these brush-wolves had previously found small fish lying on the ice where other anglers had tossed them. They just wanted to see if I was leaving any for them.
The largest coyote approached closest. He (I’m assuming this was a male) stopped about thirty yards away, standing on a sand / gravel shoreline. There, he made what seemed to be at least a mildly aggressive maneuver by pawing and kicking sand and small rocks out onto the ice toward me like a dog will sometimes do.
At that point I stood up and banged my auger on the ice once, causing the coyotes to slink away. I stayed another couple hours, and caught glimpses of the animals at times, but they made no further close approaches.
Seems to me the adults were showing the young ones how a small pack should close in on potential prey. Of course that is just my interpretation. I did not feel threatened by their actions. I didn’t leave them any fish either. I do not think showing coyotes that humans can provide feeding opportunities is a good idea. Some people learn the hard way that leaving dog food in their backyards for coyotes simply teaches them that feeding opportunities exist where dogs are found. They’ll eat the dog food alright, and have the dog (or cat) for dessert. Local newspapers carry stories about snatched pets every year – especially during the toughest part of winter.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
TACKLING DEEP WATER PERCH
Author's note: Ice fishing season is just starting here on the north end of the Great Lakes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The action id still in shallow water, but I can tell you from experience that winter anglers will hit deep spots as soon as the ice out there becomes safe. Here are some tactics for perch found deeper.
TACKLING DEEP WATER PERCH
Great Lakes Water Clarity Moves Fish Deeper
By: Ray Hansen
The improvement in water clarity on many bodies of water in the past ten years or so has been nothing short of amazing. Non-native invasive species such as zebra mussels that filter sediment from the water have dramatically changed their chosen habitat. Lake Michigan for example commonly has places where the bottom can be seen in fifteen feet and deeper – especially along the northernmost parts of this Great Lake.
Whereas many fishermen chasing salmon and other species that commonly suspend at some mid-point in the water column have noticed fish hold deeper, perch anglers have really seen the difference. Since they typically find these fish close to bottom, they quickly noticed dramatic changes. Catching these popular panfish in depths to seventy-five feet is now common. The same patterns can be seen through the ice.
Using lightweight lures to tempt fickle biters in shallower water still works on occasion, but much of the time you’ll have to get much deeper – especially on huge bodies of water where schools of smelt or alewives provide forage.
Using compact lures that are “heavy for their size” is the best approach to catching deep-water dwellers. Lures that have enough weight to zip down to bottom in fifty or more feet let you get your bait back in front of fish faster than a presentation that sinks slowly.
One of my favorite deep-water perch rigs is an eighteen-inch ice rod coupled with a tiny spinning reel and spooled with four-pound test monofilament line. I attach a size 2 or 3 “Swedish Pimple” spoon (Bay de Noc Tackle Company), using a very small, thin wire snap (not a snap swivel) to clip my lure to the line. The snap allows maximum lure action while jigging it to attract bites.
Use the small treble hook this lure is packaged with, and load each hook point with two or three “spikes” (maggots) as bait. This means you’ll be hooking six to nine spikes on the lure. Remember to remove a few old spikes frequently, replacing them with fresh bait. The maggots exude a milky fluid into the surrounding water when fresh, which attracts and holds perch in your spot.
The rest is simple. Let the lure plunge to bottom by opening the reel’s bail, and when it stops sinking you know it is resting on the lake’s floor. Next reel in a little line so that the lure hangs two or three feet up from the rocks, sand, or mud. As always, run a locator constantly while fishing. That shows you what level fish are holding at, and indicates when fish are approaching your lure.
Two different actions may attract fish: “shaking”, or “ripping”. Shaking is done by simply shaking the rod tip to make the Pimple “dance in place for five to ten seconds, then pausing to watch for a hit. The sequence is: shake – pause – shake – pause, until you get bit.
“Ripping “means to start just off bottom, rip the spoon upward one to three feet, then allowing it to settle back into place. Again, pause to watch for a bite. This lure is a proven perch killer, and it is especially effective when you need to work great depths.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
TACKLING DEEP WATER PERCH
Great Lakes Water Clarity Moves Fish Deeper
By: Ray Hansen
The improvement in water clarity on many bodies of water in the past ten years or so has been nothing short of amazing. Non-native invasive species such as zebra mussels that filter sediment from the water have dramatically changed their chosen habitat. Lake Michigan for example commonly has places where the bottom can be seen in fifteen feet and deeper – especially along the northernmost parts of this Great Lake.
Whereas many fishermen chasing salmon and other species that commonly suspend at some mid-point in the water column have noticed fish hold deeper, perch anglers have really seen the difference. Since they typically find these fish close to bottom, they quickly noticed dramatic changes. Catching these popular panfish in depths to seventy-five feet is now common. The same patterns can be seen through the ice.
Using lightweight lures to tempt fickle biters in shallower water still works on occasion, but much of the time you’ll have to get much deeper – especially on huge bodies of water where schools of smelt or alewives provide forage.
Using compact lures that are “heavy for their size” is the best approach to catching deep-water dwellers. Lures that have enough weight to zip down to bottom in fifty or more feet let you get your bait back in front of fish faster than a presentation that sinks slowly.
One of my favorite deep-water perch rigs is an eighteen-inch ice rod coupled with a tiny spinning reel and spooled with four-pound test monofilament line. I attach a size 2 or 3 “Swedish Pimple” spoon (Bay de Noc Tackle Company), using a very small, thin wire snap (not a snap swivel) to clip my lure to the line. The snap allows maximum lure action while jigging it to attract bites.
Use the small treble hook this lure is packaged with, and load each hook point with two or three “spikes” (maggots) as bait. This means you’ll be hooking six to nine spikes on the lure. Remember to remove a few old spikes frequently, replacing them with fresh bait. The maggots exude a milky fluid into the surrounding water when fresh, which attracts and holds perch in your spot.
The rest is simple. Let the lure plunge to bottom by opening the reel’s bail, and when it stops sinking you know it is resting on the lake’s floor. Next reel in a little line so that the lure hangs two or three feet up from the rocks, sand, or mud. As always, run a locator constantly while fishing. That shows you what level fish are holding at, and indicates when fish are approaching your lure.
Two different actions may attract fish: “shaking”, or “ripping”. Shaking is done by simply shaking the rod tip to make the Pimple “dance in place for five to ten seconds, then pausing to watch for a hit. The sequence is: shake – pause – shake – pause, until you get bit.
“Ripping “means to start just off bottom, rip the spoon upward one to three feet, then allowing it to settle back into place. Again, pause to watch for a bite. This lure is a proven perch killer, and it is especially effective when you need to work great depths.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
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