Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
Wishful thinking!
Fire in the fireplace, snow on the way (for a little while anyway) and one week to go of the first segment of grouse season. Seamus is going to be disappointed with his being relegated to the cabin for two weeks beginning next Saturday, but long walks in the morning and evening will serve to take off the edge. 
Several people have put in a request for of venison, and I hope I get lucky enough to fill their orders …if I don’t it won’t be for a lack of trying. “She Who Must Be Obeyed” will be at the cabin this year and if nothing else, Seamus and I will eat well.
But, there is one more day of hunting for bonasa umbellus for us and with a dusting of snow, it ought to be good. The question will be, whether or not we’ll be able to get back into the woods in December. Last year, it was a bummer.
It’s all good!
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
Preparation means success!
When you can see your own breath, you can either cringe and complain of anticipated cold weather to come, or for some, it’s an invitation to head to the woods, scout for a buck-rub and set up a blind accordingly.
Blinds have come a long way since I was a kid. Back then, all hunting was done from a ground blind that was put together with logs, twigs and fir boughs – anything lying around that fit into the surroundings. Some still are, but there is no shortage of store-bought tent type blinds that set up in minutes and are camouflaged and even eliminate scent – your scent.
Tree stands and raised blinds are popular and probably produce the most deer. And with the introduction of crossbows that shoot a bolt faster and more accurately than a regular bow, well, venison ends up in a lot of larder.
There is something about making your own blind under a fir or in a depression that lets you sit comfortably on something (I like a milk crate) or on a ridge in a makeshift lean-to with a good view of a valley.
No matter which way you hunt, scouting and blind preparation is essential to a successful hunt. How many times have you sat in a blind, heard rustling from behind, turned only to see a buck jump straight up and hightail it back into the woods or swamp or cornfield because you didn’t clear the ground of leaves and twigs that gave you away just like his stepping on dried leaves alerted you?
Preparation, and I don’t mean Preparation-H, goes a long way …well, Preparation-H helps too.
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
Aaah, deer camp!
Deer camp opens in less than two weeks and being “old school,” I’m hoping for a dusting of snow – tracking snow we used to call it. Actually, a few inches is best, that way if the temperature rises, it won’t be as prone to melt and leave you at the mercy of following a pure blood-trail.
There will be many deer camps throughout the state. Some will be a tradition that began decades ago, and in some cases passed from generations of family and friends. In any case, deer camps are an institution.
One of my favorite memories of a deer camp is the year we woke on opening morning to eight inches of hard snow that all but closed the camp from getting in or getting out. Everywhere we went, we walked – trudged. It was great. After several days, the snow let up and the two-track became passable with the help of brute strength on several occasions to push a vehicle over humps and onto the county road.
Isolated camps that get snowed in can be a real character tester ..at times a little bit of someone can go a long way. So put another log on the fire and pour another “two fingers” of libation and enjoy the solitude.
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
Fly patterns, bamboo rods …it was all good!
Over 100 fly tiers gathered in Lansing yesterday for the annual Federation of Fly Fishers Great Lakes Council, Fly Tying Expo. It was a new location and a month earlier than in past years, but enough folks got the word to make the event worthwhile.
There were as many variations of fly patterns as crystal chandeliers in the ballroom of the Motel …I actually felt underdressed in the elegant room, but, not seeing anyone dressed in a tux, I got over it soon enough.
Sitting at the Michigan Fly Fishing Club table tying Hendrickson wet flies in size 12 to 16, I had more than one person squint to see the tie in the vise. I think by the time they came to our table, they had seen many larger, streamer patterns. After all, it’s steelhead season and Hendrickson wets aren’t in most peoples mind …yet.
Ties were shared, lies were told and several folks walked out with a Ron Barch bamboo fly rod.
Good time.
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
Fly tiers, start your engines!
On Saturday. Nov.1st, the FFFGLC is hosting its annual Fly Tying Expo. This year the event will be held in the Causeway Bay Hotel, located at 6820 S. Cedar St., Lansing, Mi. The usual suspects of the fly tying world will be on hand with demonstrations and advice for anyone wanting to engage them.
Of course, what would an event such as this be without an auction; both a live and silent auction will be held and if the past years are an indication, some of the items put up for auction are on a lot of wish lists …mine included.
From booksellers to feather merchants, there is something there for anyone who needs a carryover from fall to spring.
I’ll be at the Michigan Fly Fishing Table. Hope to see you there.
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
The buck
I’ve killed deer over the years, mostly with a rifle, but with a bow too. I still hunt with a rifle, though the need to kill a deer isn’t there anymore. I like venison and won’t turn it down if offered and I appreciate it being offered. I can spend hours sitting in a makeshift blind – ground blind mostly – that was put together with branches, cedar boughs and debris scattered on the ground. The more natural it looks, the better.
My gun of choice is Winchester Model 70 in 30-06 with a Nikon scope, but in tight, brushy areas, I like my Winchester Model 94, 30-30. I also have a Winchester Model 94 pre – 63 in a 32 caliber. All of these guns have taken deer.
I haven’t hunted deer with a bow in years and I’m not sure where my Bear, Grizzly II compound is. I’m sure I still have it somewhere at the cabin but I’d have to look for it to put my hands on it. The arrows are in the shed and the broad heads are with the stored ammo. All are old technology by today’s standard, but then the recurves were old when I bought the Bear.
I’ve taken my share of game, and if for some reason I don’t take another animal, I won’t feel cheated – thought I’ll be in a blind on opening day. Whether I shoot a deer with my rifle or camera is up for grabs.
Over the weekend, Seamus and I were hunting along the Jordan River on the west side. It’s state land and open to all that’s in season. Woodcock use it for a staging area for their mating and to rest on their journey south. There are few rabbits that I’ve seen and grouse can be found, mostly in the low lying portion adjacent to the river. And there are deer.
Seamus was working the high ground, checking in and beneath every cedar clump, berry bush and in deep ferns, and was having a ball. His bell, the new set of bells I sent away for were working; they sounded like sleigh bells on a horse collar. Their sound was actually pleasant sounding and let me keep track of where he was when the cover was too dense to see him.
We had walked almost a mile along the ridge from where I parked the Jeep when I whistled Seamus to turn and put him on a new direction that would take us back to the Jeep. There was a small clump of six or eight cedars that formed a patch and looked like good cover. Seamus went in, and as I approached to follow, a buck – at least a six point, maybe an eight – jumped up from beneath one of the trees. He left the ground with all four feet and came down with his hind legs pushing him forward into deeper cover. He had an arrow stuck in his neck.
There was no sign of blood and the position of the arrow was too high to have penetrated a major organ and it obviously hadn’t severed his windpipe. The arrow looked as though it may have only penetrated a few inches, but it was too high up on his neck for him to grab at it and pull it out. If he could have managed to pull it out, he probably would have done more damage due to the design of the new broad heads.
I don’t think he was shot in the area we were hunting in, he probably came from across the road. I looked and waited to see of anyone was trailing him, but not seeing any blood, it would be difficult if not impossible to find him, and no one came. He disappeared and it became quiet again.
I don’t poach and I try to follow the edicts the DNR puts down for me to follow, but, if I had a slug available, I would have been tempted to follow and try to put the buck out of his misery.
We returned to the Jeep and drove around the area looking for a parked car that might have led to the hunter that shot the buck. We found no car nor orange strips of tape that marks the way to a blind.
There are a million reasons as to why the buck was shot in a non-vital part of his body. If the reason is the archer is a poor shot, more’s the pity.
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
Time will tell!
Judging from the responses I received to my post on “Where are the acorns,” I’m either going to be an oasis of fair weather this winter, or Seamus intercepted the acorns on their way down, ate them on the spot and hid the shell caps. 
I’ve confronted him and so far he hasn’t fessed up. I’ll check for evidence after he eats dinner. In the meantime, I’m voting for the oasis thought to materialize. I’ve gone as far as to keep the snow blower under the tarp in the back of the garage.
Wish me luck!
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
Where are the acorns?
Has anyone noticed the lack of acorns this year? My driveway is normally filled with acorns that I have to clean up before Seamus gets at them – he eats them like I do pistachios. But this year, there are few to none.
The “old timers” say that an abundance of acorns means a long cold winter. We’ll see.
In the meantime, Seamus hangs around for more bacon to supplement the lack of protein.
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
Expectations!
Aside from “She Who Must Be Obeyed” knowing what I’m thinking or going to do before I do, Seamus and I have apparently connected telepathically too. For the past few mornings, especially on the cooler ones, I’ve been getting this vibe that I’m being watched and bombarded with subliminal messages that Seamus wants to go hunting. It’s scary when you realize you’re communicating without saying a word. Those of you who are married, know what I’m talking about.
Since I do have to put in a couple of days a week trying to earn enough to put gas in the Jeep to take us up to the cabin, I’m sometimes put on a guilt trip when Seamus is ready to go and I’m not. It doesn’t take much effort on his part, just a cock of his head and those eyes that get softer when he really has something to say.
The cure for this, of course, is to stay Up North the entire month of October, something I’ve been wanting to do for years. But, alas, If there wasn’t something to look forward to, it wouldn’t be as much fun when you finally get to do it. Think about it.
TD
Category Archives: Two Cents Worth
This way, dummy!
The other day someone asked me what the hardest thing to overcome when training your own bird dog was. Ignoring the urge to tell him, “You have to be smarter than the dog,” I thought a little longer and finally settled on, “Learning to trust the dog’s instincts.”
It was a good thing to skip the smart-ass answer, because, in most cases, mine included, that’s never the case. A good bird dog, from good stock, will always be smarter than you or I and he’ll probably know it. Whether or not you break him of that notion will determine how well he hunts for you.
I am by no means a good dog trainer. I am a pretty good hand at learning to read what a dog is trying to tell me, and, if I put my bullheadedness aside, I can make it seem I trained him, when in fact, all I did was go where the dog wanted to take me. I didn’t always do that; that was a learning process for me.
Dogs don’t train themselves, but they do have genetic instincts that if you learn to recognize and allow to develop, will do most of the work in producing a great bird dog. But there can be a difference between a dog that hunts for you and a dog that works a Field Trial.
Field Trialing a dog is a lot of fun if that’s what you’re into, but if all you want to do is hunt with “your bud” then developing an understanding with the dog and knowing what his capabilities …and yours are, is like breaking in a new pair of boots; they can hurt until your feet get used to them.
Don’t get me wrong, dogs don’t train themselves to hunt for you. There is a difference between a dog being able to hunt instinctively and doing so for you. The latter takes time, patience and most of all, forming a bond and partnership …and above all, spending a lot of time afield.
Once the dog thinks you’ve caught on …well, he’ll reward you with bird or two.
TD