Steelhead Fishing: Four Decades Ago

George Richey (left) with big fish and the late Stan Lievense at work
photo c. Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

It was April 1, 1968, my second year of guiding brown trout, salmon and steelhead fishermen, and I was scouting the Little Manistee River for clients who would arrive the next day.

The river was rain-swollen and murky, and in another hour of heavy rain, it would be a foot higher and the color of chocolate milk. I thought a big buck steelhead was on a shallow gravel bar an easy cast from shore, and brother George shinnied up a tree and stood on a big branch.

"That fish is huge," George muttered to me. "It's bigger than any steelhead I've ever seen, and his cheeks and gill covers are an orange-red color. It is a truly awesome fish.

The fish was huge at about 25 pounds; Could I hold him

"You know about where he is. Cast a copper spinner upstream and reel hard when I tell you."

I cast, and George said to cast another six feet farther upstream in hopes of getting the spinner down in the heavy current. My next cast, he said, was on target.

"That's the spot," he said. "Keep casting to it. Reel hard now!"

I reeled, and nothing happened. Cast after cast went into the right spot, and I'd reel fast enough to make the spinner blade turn over in the current, and after 40 or 50 casts, George yelled "Hit him!"

The hooks were slammed home as I felt the strike, and nothing happened, so I pounded the rod tip back to set the hooks again. The huge steelhead rolled to the surface, his cheeks and gill covers glowing like evening campfire embers, and the fish started upstream, his dorsal fin creasing the surface like a shark. Not fast but with great power.

I moved along the bank but stayed downstream. The trick was to make the giant fish fight the rod pressure and the river current. We duked it out in the soggy rain for 10 minutes before the fish swapped ends and headed downstream into a deep hole. I was reeling while running but still the fish tangled the line in underwater brush and broke me off.

"How big," I asked George. He'd caught steelhead to almost 20 pounds, and guessed this ponderous male was at least 25 pound, perhaps more.

It was the largest steelhead I’d hooked, before or since

Wow, you say. That's what I said, and of the thousands of steelhead I've caught before and since, it remains the largest one I've seen.
or hooked.

My point with this is that incident occurred back in the days of very few steelhead fishermen and lots of big fish. The Little Manistee River at that time had a huge run of spawning steelhead that averaged, according to the DNR, between 11 and 12 pounds. A 15-pounder wasn't anything special, and it took a 17- or 18-pounder to raise eyebrows.

That year, also on the Little Manistee River, I found a 30-yard stretch of gravel that was wall-to-wall fish. The bottom was honeycombed with spawning redds, and 15 or 20 feet away would be another redd, and every one held a female and one to four males. We fished only for the male fish because a hooked hen would take all the boys with her.

On that day I set a record of sorts. I hooked 30 steelhead in eight hours, and am proud to announce that I made a professional release on every fish. If you're unfamiliar with the phrase, a professional release means I lost every fish, one way or another.

Steelhead four decades ago far out-numbered anglers.

There were far more steelhead in those days than now. There are far more fishermen today than back then. It's easy to do the basic math; fewer fish are being sought by more anglers.

There are still some rather exciting days if anglers can find a spot where fishing pressure is minimal. A few years ago me and another man hooked 30 steelhead in a morning. We landed about half of them, and released each and every one. Those days seldom occur any more.

Low Lake Michigan water levels haven't helped. The Betsie River mouth has been so low in recent years that very few fish make it upstream. Rivers like the Manistee below Tippy Dam can be good at times, but the fishing pressure is just too much to suit me. I can take a half-day of fishing in a crowd, and then get turned off by the whole thing.

That doesn't mean that you should, but it's easy for me to remember way back when to those special occasions when a steelhead fisherman would be unlucky to see two other anglers all day. And, back in the day, people didn't crowd you or wade down through a spawning bed. People had manners, which are hard to come by these days.

They had some class. The fish were larger and more plentiful, and the rivers weren't swarming with anglers. It was a different era, and the steelhead fishing now is still fairly good, but remembering what it was like 40-45 years ago is enough to make a grown man cry.

Personally, it's my thought that we'll probably never see the likes of those days again but remembering them remains a great thrill.

Honesty in the outdoors

The author with one of the thousands of steelhead caught since the early 1950s
photo c. Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

I’m well into my 45th year of outdoor writing. Some of the nation’s premier outdoor writers are or were my friends before they passed on.

In my lifetime I came to personally know thousands of scribes from across the United States and Canada. Some were known through word of mouth, and many were folks that I worked with in one way or another.

Some were magazine editors, newspaper reporters, photographer, or people who labored in the vineyards of radio or television. Some wrote books on fishing or hunting, and others were fishing or hunting guides who wrote on the side.

Most writers are honest but I’ve known a number who were not

The good ones had one trait in common. They were honest in their writings, and always told the truth.

My father told me during my second year of outdoor writing in 1968 that he expected one thing out of me: honesty. “Never lie to your readers,” he said. “Tell the honest truth about your experiences, and never fib to them. They will spot a liar in a heartbeat, and make damn sure you know what you’re talking about. If you don’t know a topic, don’t write about it.”

I’d never had any intention of lying to anyone, but when my father told me that, I paid attention. I’ve been at this job for almost 45 years, and have never lied to my readers.

I sell books about fishing and hunting, and buy books, and I’ve always been honest. If someone sends me a book for appraisal and possible sale, I tell them the approximate value of the book and what I can pay. I explain I must buy at wholesale price, and by selling at retail price, I make some money although I never know how long I may have to hold that book before it sells.

Most people are aware of the differences between wholesale and retail, and most know that a bookseller who buys book at retail prices and tries to sell them at retail, will soon be out of the book- buying business.

However, I’ve got a bit off the track. Some writers I’ve known were not honest. I once knew a guy who got into a financial bind, and came up with this solution to make some easy money. He was going on an Ontario moose hunt.

This guy was an out-and-out crook

He contacted Remington for a 30-06 to use on this hunt. He then went to Winchester and got a .270, and then to Savage for a 30-30 rifle. He hit on Weatherby for something else as well as several other firearm manufacturers, and apparently left on his hunt. He didn’t tell the firearm manufacturers that he had borrowed several other rifles.

Two months went by, and a bunch of firearm reps were gathered at a show, and got to talking about a hair-raising experience that Johnny Outdoorsman had experienced on a recent hunt.  The Winchester guy mentioned loaning his a rifle and scope, and then told how the writer explained how he and his guide narrowly escaped with their lives. He had one of our rifles, and when the canoe swamped in a sudden storm, the canoe capsized and all of the equipment and food went to the bottom of the lake.”

“Well, said the Remington spokesman said, “that’s some story. He told me the same story about the guy telling him about losing their 30-06. The Weatherby and Savage Arms guys piped up saying they had lost firearms to the same guy. They began talking amongst themselves, and the Winchester rep, who lived nearest the outdoor writer, agreed to talk to the guy.

When confronted with so much incriminating evidence, the writer ‘fessed up to telling a lie. All told, he had bilked the manufacturers out of nearly $20,000. He had turned the firearms over to friends that bought them at “discount” prices.

He was a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, a group that I’ve been a fulltime member since 1968. OWAA drummed the guy out of our organization, and the companies sued for the value of the so-called “lost” firearms.

For a number of years my wife and I had a business working with outdoor writers who wanted to self-publish books that were not attractive to the big publishers. We worked with a number of people, but there was a problem. Within a group of southern writers there was one person who saw a way to make some big money.

He would hire out to help an author come up with a good title, a fine book, and get it published. I know one man who lost about $40,000 to this outfit. Every two weeks the gent he hired would send an invoice for $2,000. He had over $20,000 into a book that hadn’t even gone to press yet, and he felt he’d been taken.

He called me, asked me what I thought, and I told him to call the law, work with OWAA and the attorney general for that state, and that thief narrowly escaped going to the Gray Bar Hotel for his crimes.

The point of all this rhetoric is: as is true in all walks of life, there are crooks and thieves out to make a shady buck. Usually, they trip themselves up. The biggest way is they begin to tell lies. It’s said that liars and lovers should remember their tales because they often slip up.

One could ask who these writers are. I know but I’m not talking. The problem is that if someone starts lying it’s usually in a written story. I’ve been at this job for all these years, and there is no need to lie. I’ve got a weather of true stories, more than enough to last me the rest of my lifetime.

I’ve been in some very tight spots at different times

I once wrote a piece about things that have happened to me in the outdoors. Falling off a hotel fire escape and breaking my back, being attacked by a pack of semi-wild dogs, getting caught in quicksand, and having a drunk pull a .45 on me in a bar-restaurant.

There’s not a word of a lie in any of them. They happened to me, and everything about these experiences was true.

My getting the job as the Outdoor Writer for The Detroit News in 1980 meant the company went into my background with a fine-tooth-comb, and did a thorough background check on my character. In closing, I reiterate what I’ve said before.

I took my Daddy’s advice, and have always told the truth. If you read somewhere that I caught a 38-pound Chinook on a fly line, you can take it to the bank because I had that fish weighed on honest scales about three hours after it was caught.

If I write about me and another man catching and releasing 99 of 100 steelhead we had caught in one day on the Platte River, it’s another believable story. Catching 12-13 pound walleyes on Manistee Lake is true, and there is nothing to gain by lying.

What I write about is what I’ve done, and I’m proud of my accomplishments and those thing’s I’ve done in my life. Mind you, this job hasn’t always been fun but I honestly believe I’m the luckiest guy in the world.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Rainy Day Whitetails

A big buck posturing in a soft rain and far from any bow hunters
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors©2012

There are times when a bow hunter can hear a whitetail coming for 100 yards. If the animal is upwind, and the leaves are as dry as corn flakes, the sound carries for a long distance.

Whitetails depend on their hearing for survival, and dry leaves advertise their presence. The opposite is true when it rains.

The leaves soak up the rainy weather, and a whitetail can ghost through the woods with barely a sound. This is an important reason for hunters to spend time in the woods when the rain is falling.

Fog, a light mist or a soft drizzle can cause bucks to move

I've written before that deer love to travel when a soft misty rain is falling. There is a soft pitter-patting sound under such conditions, but it doesn't seem to bother the deer. They seem to be able to separate that soft noise from a dangerous noise without a problem.

These soft rains seem to get deer moving earlier in the evening, and it appears that deer move with more confidence during a soft rain. They appear more comfortable moving between bedding and feeding areas, and they seem to eat and move without hesitation.

I've had people ask if I feel a soft rain will carry human scent downward. I believe, to a small degree, that it does. I also think that low-lying ground fog will hold human scent near the ground.

Soft rains and fog seem to go hand in hand during the autumn months, and I've seen some of my largest bucks under such conditions. The fog seems to offer big bucks a sense of security, and they seem to be on the move. This is most certainly true during the pre-rut, rut and post-rut, when buck and doe activity is high.

One thing about fog is it distorts the sense of sound. I don't know how many times I've listened to a buck grunting as he tends an estrus doe, and in the fog, my vision and hearing is limited. I've seen bucks appear and disappear in the rainy fog without ever seeing the doe, and there have been many times when the doe is visible but the tending buck cannot be seen.

Fog is the hardest to hunt in because it distorts hearing and vision

It's at times like this that a hunter must be alert. I remember one night several years ago just before the Nov. 15 firearm season opener, when I saw a half-dozen bucks appear and vanish into the fog. All were moving, all were grunting, and the antler and body size of each one indicated they were individual animals.

Judging distance in the fog can be difficult. I've talked with a number of people who know the far edge of their bait pile is 20 yards away, and if a doe or buck appears in heavy fog, they feel the animal is much farther away that it appears. They aim high to compensate for this imagined difference and shoot over the animal.

The best advice is to put out markers  if you are not using bait. A measured distance must be believed, even if the fog makes the animal appear much farther away than what it is.

I like rain on the roof, rain after my crops are planted, and rain (on occasion) when I'm hunting. I dislike a steady diet of it, and I compare that to eating steak every night. One soon grows tired of it.

I find it enjoyable to  hunt under these conditions

Hunting in the rain isn't too bad. It offers something a little different to a bow hunter, and that is fine by me. I enjoy a variety, a change of pace, in my hunting, and I can hunt in anything except a downpour or when the lightning is dancing in the sky.

Most of all, I like to hunt in those soft misty evening when the darkness comes early because of heavy rain clouds overhead, and when the whitetails seem to slip up on a guy. That is when a hunt really means something to me.

Thinking and being alert to deer is easy

This buck has a larger rack than you think; Count the points
photo c.  Dave Richey Outdoors

My mind seemingly has tunnel vision. The only two things i seem focus intently on while bow hunting is studying deer, which really doesn’t make me all bad. I could care less about ball parks, Nascar races, or tournament golf.

Whitetails excite me; almost everything else is far less interesting, and certainly a lot less fun.

People question how I can only think about these two items most of the time. It must be easy because both passions have consumed my thoughts for more than 50 years.

Both thoughts are of equal importance, and without my intense study, there would be less hunting success. A number of years ago, I was asked a question at a bow-hunting seminar I was giving.

Another seminar attendee asked if the only thing I thought about was writing. I gave the man a straight answer.

It's a wise hunter who can act and think at the same time

"Writing is what I do," I said. "It's how I make a living, and to do my job properly, I'm always thinking about the next story. It has to be what I think about on a daily basis. I'd be dead in the water without the next story idea. The same thing applies when I bow hunt for whitetails."

My answer is based on these reasons. For me, hunting whitetails with a bow, and studying the animals at every opportunity, is what I do. To stop studying deer is to stop learning about whitetail deer. To stop learning means less opportunities and decreased success.

When I hunt, I become totally focused and immersed in my surroundings, and what the deer are doing. I never lose my concentration on deer, but I continue to focus and watch other deer. I can solve all kinds of deer hunting problems while sitting in my ground blind or in an elevated coop or tree stand.

Stay focused on your surroundings and remain alert

When working, my thoughts are always on deer hunting or trying to figure out why a particular deer did what it did the night before. Most people forget yesterday's hunt but not me.

Some people find it hard to think about two things at once or have trouble chewing gum and walking. That often happens when deer hunting: I'll be trying to solve a knotty little deer travel pattern problem, and a nice buck will walk out. My reflexes take over, and I can shoot that buck while shifting mental gears, and then I will shift back to solving other problems after shooting the deer or passing up a shot.
Solving any bow-hunting problem is always easier while bow hunting. Any hunting area always has some natural noises, but out there, the phone doesn't ring to distract me.

Years ago I learned that many of my award-winning articles and columns came to me while sleeping. One part of my brain kicked into gear, and I would wake up, slip out of bed, head for my office and write it while the idea was still fresh in my mind.

The same thing happens while bow hunting. A problem may bother me for weeks, and then one night while sound asleep, the answer wakes me up faster than a face slap with an ice-cold wash cloth. I suspect that being asleep allows the subconscious to kick in, provide the needed answer, and usually the answer is so simple I wonder why it didn't come to me much sooner.

Hunting and thinking is just as easy as walking and talking

I'm able to study deer, think about various deer patterning problems, and be ready and able to shift gears automatically, and shoot the buck. It's what I've trained my body and mind to do, and anyone else can do it providing they've learned the basic fundamentals of drawing and properly aiming a bow and making a smooth release. Do those things long enough, and do them properly, and it becomes simple.

This sort of thing often happens while I'm hunting. When my two main thoughts meld while aiming at a big buck, it is one of the most memorable events of my life.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Hunt regardless of the weather

Check out these bucks; They’re all standing up at once
illustration/photo c. Dave Richey Outdoors / I65DESIGN+MEDIA ©2012

Millions of deer hunters are found across this great nation of ours, and we all seem to have a different philosophy on deer hunting. We seldom agree on wildly varying topics.

Some hunters refuse to hunt various wind directions. Anything from the east is normally bad. For years, October featured south and southwest winds and then west and northwest, and by December we were hunting northwest, north and northeasterly winds.

All the climatic changes we've seem to have produced more hot, dry weather, and the drought we've experienced this year has burned up many food plots or farm fields. It's still a bit unclear what we will be dealing with this fall, but all of us will probably dealing with freaky weather changes.

If we can’t change the weather, learn how to work with it

So, do we worry about it or allow nature take its course, and we deal with the changes as necessary?  My though is that we deal with the changes as best we can because we can't change the weather.

My philosophy is that a deer hunter won't get much hunting in if they stay home whenever there is a bad wind. I hunt but switch from an open tree stand to an elevated and enclosed coop on such days. A few stands are set for an east wind, and they are in demand when the wind goes sour.

I strongly advise hunters to make certain there are a couple of stands, whether elevated or on the ground, that allow us to cope with and hunt on an east wind.

Many are the deer hunters who believe they should only hunt during the dark of the moon. Others only hunt the week before the full moon, and others never hunt during a full moon.

There are those who believe in hunting around the Harvest Moon, the Hunters Moon, the Rutting Moon, and some who will only hunt just before the second full moon after the autumnal equinox. The nice thing about living in a free society is each of us can indulge in such pleasures that make us happy and perhaps more productive.

I personally don't care which day of the week it may be, which way the wind blows, what the moon phase happens to be, or anything else. I find it difficult to kill deer while sitting in the house rather than be out hunting.

There are others who place great emphasis on hunting the rut. Little do they know that the 10 days before the full rut begins, deer go through the chasing stage or the pre-rut. It is a wonderful time to be hunting, regardless of the moon phase or wind direction. Just hunt with the wind in your favor and forget everything else.

The rut is pretty much at the same time in Michigan

Many feel the rut begins Oct. 20-25, and that is the beginning of the chasing stage, and it will last for about 10 days before the full rut begins. It's possible to find many people who would disagree on when the rut actually begins.

The peak of the rut in northern Michigan where I hunt will occur on or about Nov. 3-4, and it is winding down by the Nov. 15 firearm season opener.

There are numerous variations, depending on where you hunt. Weather conditions and people pressure can alter these dates a bit.
Some hunters are addicted to the Solunar Tables. These tables, first invented by John Alden Knight many years ago, are based on the sun and moon and their effect on tides and the earth. They contend there are normally two minor and two major periods most days when fish bite, and when wild game move about.

Some sportsmen hunt according to the Solunar Tables and kill deer, and I know other folks who hunt whenever they can, and they also have good hunting success while hunting outside of these major and minor periods.

Nothing is 100 percent but hunt when cows are standing up

One time an old Florida cracker took me fishing. We poked around because he told me the fish aren't biting and the deer aren't moving. Two hours later cattle along the St. Johns River began getting to their feet.

"Let's go fishing now," he yelled, tossing a small baited jig into the water. We caught lots of fish while the cows were up, soon the cows laid down and the fish quit biting.

"I've watches this phenomenon for many years," he said, "and there is a correlation between standing cows, biting fish and moving deer. Fish and hunt when the cows stand up."

I've hunted many years with some poor and some great success. Good hunting habits bring wonderful hunting success, and simply being afield whenever possible is a good reason some people are more successful than others.

I forget about all this other business, and go on doing what works best for me. That means that I hunt whenever possible, and try to hunt every day of the season.

Take the normal precautions with the wind, stay downwind of the deer, and it becomes fairly easy to build your own deer-hunting success .... at least during normal weather.

The jury is still out on how future weather will affect hunting.

Highlighting Michigan’s Massasauga Rattlesnake

Map showing snake counties (brown) and a photo of a
Massasauga rattler
illustration courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors / I65DESIGN+MEDIA ©2012

CADILLAC - No one has an accurate count on how many Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) live in Michigan, but one thing is well known: We have the lions share of the population of this, the state's only venomous snake.

All the other populations that stretch from Iowa and Missouri up through Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and a small number in Ontario, make up the world's population.

"These snakes are very scarce, and everywhere else, they are considered  "threatened" or "endangered," said Michigan State University doctoral candidate Rebecca Christoffel of East Lansing, who was speaking to some Michigan Outdoor Writers. "I've studied these little rattlers for some years. They are harder to find than most wildlife in this state or any other area."

Currently the Massasuaga rattlesnake is listed in Michigan under Special Concern and is a candidate for federal listing.

These small rattlesnakes are shy and reclusive, and are seldom seen

This snake is seen so seldom that there is much that most state residents do not know about these pit vipers. This much is known: the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) is quite small, averaging 18.5-30 inches in length. They are thick-bodied, and gray or light brown with large, light-edged, chocolate-brown saddle-shaped blotches on the back with smaller dark spots along the sides. It has a blunt tipped tail with a segmented rattle at the end.

They are found throughout Michigan's Lower Peninsula and Lake Huron's Bois Blanc Island off Cheboygan. None are found in the Upper Peninsula, and wherever they are found, the land is mostly wetlands that include bogs, fens, marshes, sedge meadows, swamps and other wetlands that include prairies and savannas. See the above map for counties where known rattlesnake sightings have been documented.

Periods when Massasaugas are active

Massasaugas are active from April through October, and often are seen basking in the sun. Personally, I've seen only one live Massasauga rattler other than the one shown in the photo published today.

"Many people are frightened of these small rattlesnakes," Christoffel said, "but they are quite shy and will try to hide from view to avoid detection. They generally strike only when threatened, and most bites come when people try to handle them. They shake their small rattles, but the sound isn't as distinct as with a larger rattlesnake. Their rattling sounds more like the faint buzzing of an insect."

She said that perhaps 25 to 50 percent of massasauga snakebites are "dry," meaning the snake does not release venom. She added that from  1999-2005, from three to eight statewide snakebites were reported to Michigan Poison Control.

The chances of getting bitten by a Massasauga rattlesnake are very remote. There are certain precautions one can take, and that is to recognize where these snakes may be found. Usually, in the wild, they are found on or near humps of ground; near root wads of fallen trees; and near trash dumped in the woods by ignorant people.

"Learn to recognize possible rattlesnake habitat," she said. "The ground can be moist or sandy and dry, but there is normally some woody debris on the ground. Piles of fallen tree limbs, leafy areas, sandy hills and marginally wet areas around marsh hummocks are key locations for these snakes."

She also offers these tips to prevent getting bitten by these short-fanged snakes.

Tips to remember when in possible snake country

• Stay on the trail or the beaten path while walking in potential snake habitat.
• Always wear close-toed boots or shoes and long pants. Use a flashlight when walking after dark.
• Watch where you place your hands and feet. Do not reach into brush, rocks or dark places where it's impossible to see.
• Stop moving and determine the snake's location if you hear a rattle or buzzing sound. Step away slowly and give the snake the opportunity to move away.
• Never pick up a Massasauga rattlesnake or any other snake you cannot positively identify. Trying to pick up a snake is the most common cause of snakebites.
• Never chase, harass or threaten a snake. This is the second most common cause of snakebites. Remember, Michigan's Massasaugas, while not endangered or threatened, are protected (of Special Concern; candidate for federal listing). It is illegal to bother them.
• A Massasauga rattlesnake can strike a distance of half to two-thirds of its body length. A two-foot snake can strike 12 to about 16 inches.
• Keep pets on a leash at all times when in wild places. Besides the remote possibility of being bitten, a dog can run off to chase a fawn or even an adult deer. Keep them under control at all times or leave them behind.
• Four other snake species often are improperly misidentified as a Massasauga rattlesnake. Learn the many differences between the
  • Eastern Milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum) [photo.info]
  • Eastern Hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) [photo.info]
  • Northern Water snake (Nerodia sipedon) [photo.info]
  • Eastern Fox snake (Elaphe vulpina and Elaphe gloydi) [photo.info]

The Massasauga rattlesnake is a rather timid animal, and will go out of its way to avoid humans. Michigan has the largest number of these small rattlesnakes, but the population is a relative thing. These snakes are not plentiful even in the best habitat, and they deserve the protection afforded them.

For more information on massasauga rattlesnakes, go to the Michigan DNR -Massasauga website.

Start deer scouting soon

The author with a nice buck he scouted after the season opened
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

There is nothing better than putting down boot leather when it comes to learning a new hunting area, and that is what most people do. A few take this "learning-the-land" proposition two steps further.

The use of topographical maps is one key element of learning new land, and aerial photographs is still another. Combine these strategies, and a hunter will have a recipe for possible success.

To properly scout an area, it's vitally important to prevent your scent from drifting downwind to a whitetail bedding area. Play the wind like a fine violin, stay downwind of bedding areas, move through the area while checking ground sign for trails, food areas and bedding spots.

There is just a bit more than a month to scout before the opener

Nothing is 100 percent when it comes to hunting whitetail deer, but having a firm grip on the terrain is very important. There is a quarter-mile field that runs mostly north and south on my land, and through this open field are a series of small rolling hills and dips in the land. Deer have learned to use those tiny valleys and tiny hills to sneak through the open terrain.

Walking such an area is one way to learn how deer travel, and doing it with some snow on the ground is even better. There are places where bucks can enter the field on the west side, and by moving left and right, they can stay down in the dips and out of sight of most hunters.

What I've done is build hunting coops and they are strategically placed so that most of these travel routes can be covered. Deer often move east in the evening and west in the morning, and hunters can place themselves in key positions to waylay the animals as they pass.

However, when hunting strange land that you've never hunted before, topo maps and aerial photographs, when combined with walking the terrain will enable hunters to determine good spots to hunt.

Use time wisely to learn where deer travel; Do it now

Funnels are an absolute deadly spot to hunt. A funnel is created by a narrowing of heavy cover. It can be a brushy fence-row that connects a wood lot and swamp, two wood lots, a wood lot and a pine plantation, and other such thick and narrow places like creek beds where deer movements are funneled through a narrow area. They are natural travel corridors that deer use.

The bases of hills are another hotspot. Often the thicker cover is at the lower elevations, and if there are three hills, only one will be vitally important to hunters. Deer often choose the one that offers the easiest access and exit routes to heavy cover, and they will ignore other nearby hills.

Field corners that border on swampy or wooded areas are great, Again, only one field corner is most likely to produce deer, and again, it is usually the thickest corner that still provides animals with a good view of a distant field.

Saddles or breaks in flat or low-lying areas or ridges that allow easy access to feeding fields are good spots. Such locations may have one good trail that leads from higher ground, down through the saddle, and through swampy or wooded areas that border the crop lands.

Dry or wet creek or river bottoms are especially good because there is a good deal of cover, the possibility of mast crops such as acorns and beech nuts, most bottom land areas are thick with berry bushes and other cover.

Don't ignore aerial maps or topographical maps; They can help

Walking this land is fine, but putting aerial photos and topo maps together enable hunters to obtain a birds-eye view, and the topo maps will show contour changes. Most topo maps have contour lines and special colors or symbols that indicate hills, wooded areas, swamps, creek or river beds and much more.

Spot the funnels, saddles and other topographical features, find their relationship to the aerial maps, and plot the best method of moving into these areas to hunt. Find such key locations, determine the bedding and feeding areas, and then begin scouting for active deer sign.

Locate the food source, and then find the bedding area, and the trails deer use will be relatively easy to find. Determine the prevailing wind direction, and start looking for good trees for a stand.

Finding hotspots in new areas isn't terribly difficult but it requires some scouting time. Most of all, carry a compass or GPS, and know how to use them. Finding such out-of-the-way areas, where other people seldom hunt, and you'll have your own little gold mine for deer.

Who Will Blink First?

This buck is screened by a tree and brush; Wait for him to move
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

It takes some age and an abundance of hunting experience to accomplish one of the most difficult things in bow hunting: determining when not to take a shot. There are times when taking a bow shot at a buck just doesn’t make sense.

I was sitting in one of my stands last October. Deer movements were slow, and going home and soaking up some heat seemed a good idea. A bad thing about taking a shot under iffy conditions is knowing that if the deer is not killed, it will be spooky of that area in the future.

Some say a deer's memory is less than five minutes, but I'm convinced that while deer do not think as we do, they react to instinct. A close call can cause a buck to change his travel patterns.

My decision was the right one: I'd sit and wait. There was no rush as plenty of shooting time remained, but I'm constantly amazed at how long a buck can remain motionless. This buck never moved a muscle, but yet, it had to move forward or sideways to offer a shot.

Sometimes it’s just a wise decision to wait out a deer

It chose to stand still and only its head moved very slightly. It moved its head an inch or two when other deer filtered past me, but I believe that some game animals can sense potential danger.

This buck seemed rooted stiffly in place, and he stood as still as a statue and never moved. I can set still for long periods of time, but this old boy's life depended on his choice of action. He stood, immobile, waiting and watching for something to confirm his suspicions.

Thirty minutes passed, and like a case of stare-down between two people, someone had to blink. It was me, and although I knew the buck couldn't see my eyes, he seemed to sense when I blinked.

He whirled and disappeared back into the tag alders. Other deer spurted away, frightened by his sudden actions, and they were visible momentarily before all was quiet again.

Such experience makes one wonder about whitetail deer

I sat back, and thought about our standoff. It was nothing I did or he did that resulted in his flight except me blinking my eyes. I was wearing a face mask, and he couldn't see my eyes. Turkey hunters swear an incoming gobbler will see the waiting hunter blink.

Maybe it's so. I certainly don't know everything about whitetail deer, but I do know this buck sensed danger. When his nerves couldn't stand the strain, he bolted.

It's what caused him to run is the question, and the answer is yet to be determined. I can’t believe he saw or even sensed me. It’s such encounters that make hunters wonder what they did wrong.

In all likelihood, the deer may have been spooked earlier, and was still a bit owly about that experience. It’s as good a theory as any.

Try grunting with a deer decoy

There's always a chance a big buck will investigate a grunt call
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

If you've never used a grunt tube to call bucks, you may be surprised in two ways: the call, properly used at the correct time, can call a buck within easy bow range.

The second way to be surprised is the sounds the call will make. It vaguely reminds one of ... ah, how can I put this delicately? Ah, ah, let's see ... ah, well, ah, sort of like someone four hours after eating a big plate of refried beans.

There, that's out of the way. For a first-time buck grunter, one often spends the first sequence of calling smiling and silently giggling. Just often enough, a grunt call will effectively pull a nice buck close enough for a decent shot.

A grunt tube sounds obnoxious but it does work...sometimes

There are two things to bear in mind about using a grunt call. No sounds you can make will scare deer away. The second thing is that it works best when you can see a buck.

Here's the scenario. You are sitting in a ground blind or tree stand, and spot a buck some distance away. A low grunt, breathe and grunt again for three or four seconds may stop a buck if he hears the call.
If the wandering buck stops, appears indecisive about what to do, wait and see what it does do. An amazing thing about grunt calls is that one buck will come to the call, and another one won't. You always work on the basic philosophy that this antlered critter is one that will. Feel it and believe in it.

Watch the deer. The animal knows precisely where the sound comes from, and may work his way cautiously or come on a dead run toward you. If the buck walks, trots or runs in your direction, do nothing but get prepared for a shot.

Pay attention to how a buck reacts to a call; Don't over-call

However, if the buck looks around and acts as if it doesn't know what it heard, wait. If the buck turns, and starts walking away, blow another sequence of calls but do so softly. If the buck stops, turns around and looks, wait to see if he will come. If he turns to walk away, give another calling sequence but even softer and shorter than before. Make it sound as if a doe or another buck is walking away.

That often is all it takes to turn a deer around. Watching how a buck reacts to the deer call is very important. Once they start coming in your direction, get ready for a shot because the buck may move to within 10 feet of your position.

There are any number of grunt calls available. There are calls that a hunter can blow into, but they can freeze up in cold weather. Other grunt calls work by inhaling air through the calls. A few have both features where authentic sounding calls can be made by inhaling and exhaling. This gives a very realistic tending buck grunt.

Try using an extension to position your call on the ground

One company believes that most big bucks are never found in trees, and it has an inhale tube that passes through 18 feet of rubber tubing so the call appears to be coming from ground level. This call appeals to me simply because it come from ground level, and a buddy of mine never sits over 15 feet off the ground and he calls bucks to him regularly.

According to my friend the best time to call bucks is prior to the rut. Bucks, he says, pay little attention to a grunt call during the rut and post-run periods. But other hunters disagree with that philosophy. They feel grunting may work anytime during the hunting season. Nothing about a grunt call  will frighten deer so I believe in using them whenever I but bucks within sight can come if they hear the call. It really can pay off at any time of the season.

Grunting with a nearby deer decoy can be deadly early in the season until just before the rut begins. This same man, who shall remain anonymous by his wishes, uses a deer decoy and a long-tubed grunt call at the same time.

Adding a deer decoy improves the effectiveness of a grunt call

He positions the deer decoy where to whether he plans to shoot a buck or a doe. Bucks will almost always circle and come to a doe decoy from the rear. He uses a small strip of white towel, and tacks it to the hind end of his doe decoy. The cloth is saturated with some type of doe-in-heat lure, and he strings 6-pound mono from him to a screw eye to an overhanging branch near the decoy's rump. He ties one end of the mono to the white cloth strip, runs it through the screw eye(s), and to his position in the tree.

If a buck is spotted, he gives one or two grunt sequences, making them soft and guttural sounding. Once the buck looks his way, he gently pulls on the mono line, and the combination of a grunt, the sex lure and a moving white strip of cloth on the doe's rump, makes it looks like a doe flicking its tail. Bucks often move in with caution.

My buddy thinks calling can be overdone. He begins with a short and soft muffled grunt that last one or two seconds, a pause, another longer and slightly louder drawn-out grunt that lasts several seconds, another pause, and a soft and short grunt, and that's it. If needed, repeat the sequence again, but call every 30 minutes. Sometimes blind calling will attract a buck passing through the area even though it is out of sight.

Using a grunt call isn't for everyone. If you feel self-conscious, leave it home. It the sounds doesn't bother you, and you wish to add two more tools to your deer-hunting arsenal, give a grunt call and doe decoy a try.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Savor the memories of those now gone

George Richey with a nice Texas whitetail and a ghostly image
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

A number of people who have been near and dear to me may have taken life for granted at one time or another. Most of them, in the final days of their life, realized their mistake.

In other situations, some of us don't take things for granted, but life can still step up and blind-side us.

None of us are infallible, and none of us are invincible, no matter how strongly we believe it. Life can begin and end on a moment's notice.

The death of a person can come suddenly; without notice

My life has been blessed in so many ways, and I took my vision for granted until I began losing it. Now, every day is a precious commodity to be wisely considered and lived with a fervent passion.

The problem is that none of us know how much time we have to live. My father, who died of old age, had prostate cancer for years. It didn't kill him but 94 years of life did.

Twin brother George lived life to its fullest. He did nearly everything in life he really wanted to, and learned one Saturday that he had incurable cancer and he died the following Wednesday.

He didn't go to his Maker kicking and screaming. Hours before he passed away, he told me: "I have no regrets. I've lived a good life, and now I'm ready to go."

Life is meant to be lived to its fullest; Death is permanent

A good friend of mine died two days later in Oregon. He had made it through perhaps ten years in a wheelchair, and died after having lived a full life before a stroke kept him from walking.

Brother George had seven different kinds of cancer, and his pain levels were mild compared to that of others. Why does this happen? Why do so many people die of this disease in agonizing misery while others have an occasional ache or twinge of pain?

My aunt, who died years ago at the age of 84, was a very religious woman. She never smoked or drank, but battled cancer for many years. She attended church two or three times a week, and still the disease finally wore her down.

My first wife died at the age of 40 from cancer. She didn't visit the doctor as often as she should have, but no one deserves such a painful and undignified death.

Three good friends died early. Two had families, but died of self-inflicted gun-shot wounds. Only one was physically ill, and he had inoperable cancer and chose his own time of death.

I talked with him three days before his death

All of these people, with the exception of the two suicides, had cancer. It wreaked havoc on their bodies, and in the end, the pain and the debilitating effects of chemotherapy and radiation probably hastened their demise.

My good childhood friend Fred Houghton died quietly. He loved to fish for walleyes and yellow perch on Saginaw Bay, was married the second time about four years before his death, and kept himself in great shape.

Physical conditioning doesn't bar the way to cancer. It can come calling, as it did with him, and now my old friend is gone. I remember many fishing days from when we both went to Clio High School, and we spent many days over many years hunting ducks and geese.

He lived a good life, retired fairly early, and had everything going his way except for a cancer he didn't know about until it required surgery. He was pronounced cancer-free, as he told me several months before his death, but the disease took him from us all too soon.

I attended a birthday party for a friend who just turned 90 years old. I've thought about him and another 90-year-old friend all day, remembering their contributions to my success as a photographer and writer. One man died 30 minutes after me and my wife visited him.

I remember while duck hunting on Wigwam Bay near Standish in the late 1950s, when brother George and I were hunting from a sneak boat. My childhood buddy was hunting in the cattails, got cold and tried to climb into our boat.

It didn't work, and the boat finally sank beneath the waves as he tried to clamber aboard. I was the only one without waders (who knows why) but I went down with the ship, and got soaking wet and cold during an early November storm.

My buddy always had a much different version of that story, and we argued long and hard about the merits of his or my version. But the boat went down, and in a good-natured way, I always told him it was his fault. He blamed me, and we both had a good laugh about me getting wet.

That story, now that he is gone, was part of the glue that held us together as friends for over 60 years. As is so true with all of us, one day we will all have run our race.

Fred's race sadly ended early, and I shall cherish his memory and that of my brother and father. He was a good man, a kind and considerate friend, and cancer took him much too early.

Ted Trueblood was an outdoor writer of note and a wise man

I will miss my dear friends, family and relatives, even a man named Ted Trueblood, who was one of my childhood heroes as a kid. I found myself in Boise, Idaho one day, and on impulse, looked in the phone book. There was Trueblood's name and number, and I called him.

He was affable, but told me he could only talk for a few minutes because he had cancer, and had to take pills for the pain. We talked for about 30 minutes, and he knew who I was. We chatted about outdoor writing until he had to sign off. A few days later I read where he had died suddenly. I think of him often, and wonder why some people must die of dreaded diseases.

All of these people, both relative and friends, are now gone, and those of us who remain behind, are stuck with good and sad memories. So I enjoy them as memories are meant to be cherished, with great fondness, and leave the sadness behind where it belongs.

Hunting New Deer Country

This big buck came close but not close enough for a shot
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

A first-time deer hunter in new terrain is at a major disadvantage if he doesn't have someone to help him locate a good spot to hunt. They don't know the country, and have little clue where deer travel.

Coming into new deer country is always somewhat exciting. Those of us who have been involved in bow hunting for many years, always study the lay of the land. We note the thick cover, obvious funnels, saddles or low spots between two high hills, and we start check out everything about the land.

We know that the normal morning travel cycle is from feeding areas to bedding zones, and in the evening, deer leave normal thick bedding cover and work their way toward farm fields, oak flats, food plots or big corn fields.

Looking around, and checking for deer sign and travel, is required

Given an hour of looking around, most hunters with several years experience will have found deer trails, and they've separate the well traveled routes from other seldom used trails.

They pay particular note of the wind direction, and how that wind would carry human scent to the deer. This may be of the utmost importance because once winded, a hunter is not likely to see anything more than the south end of a deer heading north.

But sizing up a hotspot involves considerably more investigation. Given time, we can locate the bedding and feeding areas, and from there draw on our knowledge of deer travel habits to find key spots to ambush the animal. It's easy to be a bit off on the first night, but careful study often can predict the most likely route for deer to take.

A buddy once hunted Tara, an island in the middle of the Mississippi River, in the great deer state of Mississippi, and he hadn't been there 15 minutes before he spotted the ideal tree within 100 yards of a thick palmetto swamp. He had a self-climbing stand, and the tree was straight with no low branches. Up he went, forearms leaning on the handles, and he quietly lifted his feet. Up and up he went to a height of about 20 feet.

Once he found the best spot, he used a self-climbing stand

He made very little noise, and since he was hunting during the rut, he felt the soft noise of climbing the tree might sound like two bucks banging their antlers together. He got into position, fastened his full-body harness to the tree, and sat down after pulling his bow up into the stand.

He nocked an arrow, pulled down his face mask, and sat without movement. The tree had little cover, but it offered a panoramic view of the bedding area and trails leading out of the palmettos toward an open green field.

Two hours later as the sun began dipping toward the western horizon he spotted a doe moving fast out of the palmettos. It crossed a tiny nearby creek with one splash, and then came the unmistakable sound of a tending buck grunt.

His bow was up and ready and his body was positioned so he could draw and shoot with the bow limb outside of his left leg. The first doe squirted out on a dead run, and then came another mature doe being tended by a big 10-point buck. If they followed the same trail as the first doe, the other doe and the buck would cross at a quartering-away angle at 15 yards.

His set-up was absolutely perfect, but as is true with many hunts, Mr. Murphy of Murphy's Law raised his ugly head. This law states that if anything can go wrong, it will.

Murph was in the saddle that night. The doe and big buck passed within an easy 15 yards of his stand, and they had to pass a big magnolia tree. When they did, and he was screened from their sight, he made a silent draw.

The only problem was the doe was on the side closest to the bow hunter. He was at full draw but the buck, oblivious to any danger, was perfectly screened by the doe. They marched quickly off in lock-step, and the episode passed without a clean shot.

Common sense is important when hunting an area the first time

He had never hunted that island before, had little clue of anything but the bedding area and where the food plot was located. He was downwind of the deer, and he had done everything according to the rules of common sense, but there is no predicting how deer will line up when they walk past a hunter.

Each new area requires study, and the same attention to detail should be noted if someone places you in a stand. Note possible travel routes, the wind, and if you play your cards properly, the buck will walk past and not be screened by a doe or heavy brush.

But, it's just the luck of the draw. That's why they call this hunting rather than killing.

Catching deep-water roach

Summer deep-water roach (bull bluegills) head for deep water
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

The tug from deep water was soft but easily identifiable as a strike. My rod tip bowed slightly toward the stern, and when I hooked the fish, there was an old and unmistakable feeling I hadn't experienced in many years.

There was a good fish on my line, and it was putting up a fight equal to that of a fish twice its size. This wasn't a crank-'em-in thing; this was a scrap that required some finesse, patience and skill on light line. It was no place for a heavy-handed angler.

This was on a Traverse City area lake that shall go nameless for many reasons. A husband and wife team who read my daily blogs has told me about some of their catches. Their fishing method is identical to mine.

Look for a clean lake bottom in 25-30 feet of water

Pick a lake with bluegills, and that means any number of lakes in this state. Look for the deepest water with a fairly open lake bottom, and line up the boat with the prevailing breeze, and start drifting downwind.

Setting up to bottom-fish a lake is quite easy. The terminal rigging is simple.

Run six-pound line through a light egg sinker, tie it to one end  of a small barrel swivel. Tie a three-foot leader of four-pound-test, with a long-shank bronze No. 10 hook, and then tie the opposite end to other end of the barrel swivel.

Hook a cricket, and lower it over the side and send the egg sinker and bait to the bottom. Tighten up the line, and if you can't feel bottom, let out more line. The cricket will float up slightly off bottom at a perfect depth for bottom-hugging 'gills.

Back when I was a kid, we called these big bluegills deep-water roach. The name is still heard in some areas, but they are nothing more than big bluegills that have learned to head for deep water once the spring spawn ends and the surface water warms up.

This means hunt-and-peck fishing. Bluegills often gather in certain deep-water locations, and it's up to the fisherman to find them. A slow wind drift works perfectly. Let out enough line to keep the egg sinker bumping along bottom.

Light line means just one thing; within reason, the lighter the line, the more bluegills you'll hook, but a big 'gill on two-pound line may be lost unless the ultimate in care is used while fighting the fish. Four-pound or six-pound line may produce slightly fewer hook-ups but an angler has a better chance of landing a fish.

Slow wind-drifting with crickets on bottom pays off

The secret means slow-drifting with your bait bumping along bottom. Bluegills usually tap-tap the bait, and then pull the rod-tip down. Set the hook gently, and be prepared for a spirited fight.

The fish will try to stay deep, and will turn broadside to the pull of the line, and it is a battle all the way to the boat. A slow drift is preferable to a fast trip down the lake because it becomes too difficult to keep the bait nudging bottom where the larger 'gills will be found.

The middle of the lake often is good, and bull bluegills with the pug noses are usually caught in 20 to 30 feet of water. Fish along the outside edges of weed beds, and keep prospecting for fish. It may be likely that all the big fish will be concentrated in one small section of the lake, and it's up to you to find them.

Anglers who find a bull-bluegill hotspot in deep water should never keep a limit. It takes years for a bluegill to grow to 10 to 12 inches, and a lake can literally be cleaned out of big 'gills in a season by a greedy fisherman.

Find a good lake, don’t keep many and don’t tell your buddies

Keep one or two, and if it's lots of fish you want to eat, work the shallower water for a bunch of six-inchers. They are better to eat than the big fish, and you'll be doing the lake a favor by removing some of the small but competitive and hungry fish.

Not all lakes hold big bluegills. In fact, an angler may wind-drift a dozen bluegill lakes before finding one that holds a decent number of big 'gills. Once you find such a spot, keep it as secret as one would their favorite grouse or woodcock coverts or a secret beaver pond where foot-long brook trout are caught.

Lakes with a fishable number of deep-water roach are something to protect from greedy fishermen. Anglers who find such a lake are duty-bound to keep their silence and never speak of big bluegills around anyone. Never take and show photos of big 'gills, and never fish it often.

To do otherwise is to destroy the very thing that made this inland lake so desirable to you and the fish. It's the personal ego stroke that leads to heavy catches that soon dwindle down to nothing.

A kill isn't always necessary

The elk were high, and this would have been easy but not what I wanted
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

To shoot or not to shoot? That was the immediate question.
I was in Colorado 20 years ago on an elk hunt. My buddy and I had seen several bull elk so far and out hunt still had a few days to go. We spotted a small elk herd from a distance, glassed them to see what they looked like.

"The bull on the far right is a nice 6X5," he whispered. "The middle bull is just a spike, and the left one is partly hidden. I can't see his rack."

The bull then eased from the black timber and offered us  a long  look

"Wait. He's stepping out, and he's a dandy 5X5 with good ivory tips," the guide said. The right and left bulls are shooters. We have the wind in our favor, and if we can get 75-100 yards closer we can sneak in close for a good shot if cow elk don't get in our way."

To shoot or not to shoot? Shakespeare never had this problem. For me, it was easily solved. I chose not to make the stalk and take the shot. The bulls were decent racks but not what I'd hoped for. I offered them to my Michigan friend,

This hunt took place in September. I was looking for something big; I'm not a trophy hunter, but had fond hopes of getting a big bull. Besides, I wasn't keen on shooting a nice bull elk so early in the hunt.

"Want him?" my buddy asked our guides who also had an elk tag. "The best bull is on the right, and most hunters would be tickled to take him. He's broadside, and after a short stalk it would be an easy bow shot at 40 yards."

He knew I could kill a  bull elk at 40 yards, but I didn't want to shoot the animal.

I shook my head no, and the three of us moved quietly from the area to look for a bigger bull. The guide and my friend kept looking sideways at me, probably thinking I was nuts for not shooting.

Sometimes elk hunting should be a solitary sport

The next day we drove as far up-hill as possible to get near a water-hole up an old mountainous two-track. We left the truck behind, and then climbed uphill within easy reach of the water hole. Two hours later, we were there and had scouted the entire area. An elk bugled briefly and we shifted our attention to the sound.

"Here comes a nice bull," the guide said. "He looks great: heavy antler beams, long tines and a 5X5 rack. I'll try calling to see if he's interested."

My neck hairs lifted at the sound of elk music drifting through the mountains, and the bull responded by moving closer. The call had him interested, and for good reason: The bull wanted water from the water-hole, and figured he may have to get past the other bull. He closed to within 100 yards, turned broadside and challenged the unseen bull.

I again shook my head no to the unasked question. My friend couldn't understand my apparent reluctance to shoot a bull. Neither could the guide.

"I shot a beauty here two years ago, and since I have a choice in the matter, I'll wait for something bigger," I told him. "If I see an elk larger than what I've already taken, I'll shoot. Until then, I'll hold off and shoot a deer when I get home."

Many elk were seen but we never fired an arrow at any of them

We saw 16 antlered bull elk on that Colorado hunt, and I passed on each one. He wound up shooting a nice 5X5, and was very pleased with his choice. It was his first elk with a bow, and a wonderful accomplishment.

I shot nothing, and wasn't disappointed. He, a first-time elk hunter was ecstatic, but still couldn't figure out why I wouldn't shoot. He didn't realize that I'd been here before, and had shot my share of bulls, and didn't need to do so again.

I assured him that he'd been a great hunting partner but the simple fact was I hadn't seen an animal I wanted. The hunt offered thrills and many opportunities, and no one could have asked for anything more. I had numerous chances to shoot in a sport where one lost opportunity may be all a hunter ever gets.

A successful hunt doesn't always mean returning home with game. I had many chances to shoot, but there was no need unless I saw an elk I really wanted. The animal I had hoped to take never materialized, but that didn't diminish my time afield.

If anything, it enhanced my hunt, which is difficult for other hunters to understand. My time was well spent, and seeing game in beautiful hunting country was a plus, but I've never regretted my decision.

A kill isn't always needed to produce a meaningful hunting experience on this or three other elk hunt where I've passed up nearly 40 bulls. I would have been happy and proud to see my hometown friend do the job but he wouldn't either.

I hunt for what I please, and what is legal, and if I don't shoot, it's because of one of three reasons: the bulls were too young to shoot or I simply couldn't catch up with them. A third choice is possible.

Perhaps because I greatly enjoy the hunt, that when it comes time to shoot, the urge to kill the bull has gone away.
In any respect, the guide and other hunter had a choice and decided not to shoot either. For us, the hunt itself had been enough.

A chilling thought on a hot summer day

Not enough snow to prohibit deer travel … yet
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

We've all grown up with the adult advice that too much of
anything is never good for you. The primary examples used when I was a young man included such things as alcoholic beverages, tobacco and chasing wild women.

Most people realize that eating too much sweets, too many steaks or too much fried foods isn't good for a person. Too much Thanksgiving turkey bloats a person and makes us drowsy.

This "too-much" attitude can apply to many things about deer hunting as well. Too much east wind, too many trips to the same stand, too many does in the herd ... all of these things can be bad.

A chilling summer thought

Even though it is 80 degrees in early August, my thought processes are never far from deer. This leads me to wonder about snow. Can too much snow be a bad for hunters and for deer? The answer is a qualified "yes."

Let's take a look at the problem. Some parts of the state last winter were knee-deep in snow. What exactly are some of the problems associated with too much snow for hunters.

• The obvious thing is that too much snow can have a limiting effect on how deer travel. The more snow, the less the animals move out to feed. The less feeding that takes place means that deer are not as visible, and that isn't good.
  
• Another problem with too much snow is it becomes more difficult for hunters to get around, and the result is many sportsmen stop going out. They dread the idea of hiking a half-mile through deep snow, and running the risk of a heart attack.
  
• We all know that snow makes things slippery, and it's very easy for a boot to slide off a tree stand step or the ladder of a ladder stand. Snow blows, can obscure moving deer, and many hunters do not care to be out in the really nasty weather.
  

Too much snow causes problems for deer as well; Such as

• The deeper the snow, the less deer will move to feed. The deeper the snow, the more difficult it becomes for young deer to get around and to find food. Prolonged bouts of snowy weather and cold temperatures can lead to winter die-off or increased predation.
  
• Deer spend most of their time in heavy cover, and snow can obscure the view of a deer moving through thick underbrush. Those deer that do move may pay an inordinate amount of attention to a hunting blind. They may still hang back in a thicket and not move until after dark.
  
• It's difficult to tell a buck from a doe in swirling snow. They same thing applies to foggy weather. A friend of mine shot two bucks last year by accident. They looked like does, which is what he was hunting, and he glassed the deer with binoculars, and then switched to a scope. He studied their heads and could not see antlers, but when he walked up to both animals, each was a nice buck. Their antlers were made invisible by fog hanging four feet off the ground.

Swirling snow can lead to taking a bad shot

One could make the argument that he shouldn't have shot. However, long periods of studying both animals with binoculars and a high-powered scope failed to reveal antlers. He still wishes he hadn't shot.

So here we are, just barely into August, and each day brings us closer to the hunt and the inevitable snow that follows.

A friend of mine from the Traverse City area had 20 inches of snow one day last year, four inches the next and the next, four inches again and about six inches the next day. If anyone is counting that is 34 inches several day, and it continued to pile up.

Many don't seem to be aware of it, but two years ago we got 165 inches of snow that winter and about 120 inches last winter. Who knows what the weather will bring in several more month.

Granted, deer can head for the conifers where there is some thermal cover, but the combination of cold temperatures and increasingly deep snow, can place some young deer and mature breeding bucks in serious trouble early in the winter.

That, in a very bad winter, can become a death sentence for deer. And that is a chilling thought on a hot summer day.

Passing of the Michigan grayling

Greg Meadows with an Arctic grayling from Great Bear Lake
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

The Michigan grayling were so plentiful 125 to 150 years ago that they were caught to provide food. Some timber companies of the 1880s fed these tasty game fish to the loggers who were cutting down trees nearby.

The fish with the overly large dorsal fin sustained the men who would ultimately destroy them. As large standing timber along streams were cut to allow more sunlight on the river surface, and the trees were rolled into the rivers to gouge out spawning gravel or clog it with sawdust, the beginning of the end was underway.

Over-fishing, timbering, warming of the stream water, and removal of spawning gravel made the inevitable demise of the Michigan grayling a certainty. Some Lower Peninsula streams held grayling until the early 1900s, and a few grayling were found in the Upper Peninsula, until the fish went extinct in the late 1930s.

Many things led to the extinction of Michigan’s grayling

Waters such as the AuSable, AuGres, Black, Boardman, Boyne, Cheboygan, Hersey, Jordan, Manistee, Muskegon, Pine and Rifle rivers once held the majority of grayling in this state. Studying data from a book called Trout of Michigan, by Harold Hinsdill Smedley (books are available from me for $10 plus $3 postage dave@daverichey.com) and from a little monograph called The Grayling In Michigan by Charles W. and Edwin P. Creaser of Alma, it quickly becomes apparent the Michigan grayling went extinct soon after logging ended.

A catch of Michigan grayling from Bear Creek in the late 1880s

The last holdout for the Michigan grayling was in Houghton County's Otter River where fair to good numbers of fish were still available in the early 1900s. Michigan tried to raise Otter River fish in downstate hatcheries, and many were planted (including some in the Cedar River near Gladwin) but all such plants soon died out.

Graying, once the special fish of Michigan waters, no longer exists in those waters. Advancement comes a dear price. Often more costly than desirable.
photo from The Graying in Michigan

Other planting efforts took place with the last major plantings of hatchery-reared fish from Alaska and Montana, were made in the 1980s. The fish were planted in the AuSable and Manistee rivers, and in several; small Upper Peninsula streams, and in a few select lakes in both peninsulas, but after three years they had vanished without a trace.

To the best of my knowledge, the Michigan grayling were gone again by the mid-1980s. The last recorded true Michigan grayling was caught in the Otter River in 1935, and the game fish was declared extinct soon after.

I've caught Arctic grayling in northern Saskatchewan, Canada's Northwest Territories, and in Alaska. I truly wanted to catch a Michigan grayling after the most recent plants 30-some years ago, but even though they had to be released alive if hooked, I didn't want to jeopardize the health of any of these delicate fish.

Other anglers, fishing near planting sites on the AuSable and Manistee rivers, caught many of these fish while fishing for trout. Most were returned to the water alive, but it seems that handling them led to their quick demise.
Apparently it wouldn't have made much difference because the fish soon disappeared. Grayling did live a bit longer in some cold inland lakes, but I suspect other game fish ate the small grayling for lunch.

The original grayling of this state averaged 8-11 inches with an occasional fish to 14 inches. By comparison, I landed a 4 1/2-pounder in Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories. It was mounted in all of its majestic colors, and some slob stole it from a display at the Outdoorama show at the State Fairgrounds in Detroit in the early 1980s.

The large sail-like dorsal fin allowed these fish to put up a good fight. It was like battling a big bluegill when the fish turns its side to the pull of the line. Grayling threw up that big dorsal fin, and the fight became more difficult. They are wonderful to eat, and had the distinct odor and taste of the herb thyme.

The color photo above was taken on Great Bear Lake of an Arctic grayling. The b/w creel photo was taken by a gentleman named Hanselman of Ann Arbor about 1886 and shows a nice catch of Michigan grayling from Bear Creek, a Manistee River tributary.
The grayling in this state are gone, and will probably never be seen in our state waters again. However, the city of Grayling owes its name to this great game fish that, like the passenger pigeon, is now extirpated. And state residents are much poorer for that loss.

Positive thinking helps bow hunters

Never take bad shots; Wait for a broadside or quartering-away shot
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

It's difficult to do things that require skill without having a good attitude. A problem I find with some hunters is they lack drive or motivation, and this usually comes from not having a proper attitude.

There are good attitudes and bad 'tudes, and a bad one isn't conducive to being an effective deer hunter. Hunters with a bad 'tudes are constantly griping about the weather, the lack of deer, too many does, too many hunters, and on and on.

Can't remember the name of the guy but years ago he held classes that praised the power of positive thinking. He believed that thinking in a positive way made a big difference, and I completely agree.

The power of positive thinking works while bow hunting

Think of deer hunting this way. You climb into a tree stand or ground blind, feeling good about yourself and your ability to sit still and shoot straight. You know you can shoot that buck if it comes your way.

This positive thinking attitude doesn't work every time. If it did, we would all soon tire of deer hunting, rolling a 300 game while bowling, or clobbering two home runs in the local softball game.

What this positive thinking does do is allow a hunter to do everything else right. A buck starts heading your way, and you spot it immediately. You sit still and don't wiggle around, and you've got the wind in your favor at all times.

Stay alert and pay attention to your surroundings; Don’t move

Turn this whole scenario around, and head into the woods with hope in your heart, and a good feeling about hunting. There is a feeling that you sense more than feel, that today will be a day when a nice buck will offer a shot. You can sense that buck, and you sit tight with bow at the ready, and when he shows up, you are fully capable of shooting it.

The power of positive thinking is something that many people rarely acknowledge. They might be thinking about a beer after the hunt, and be thinking of that brew when they should be thinking about a deer.

This is a mental concept that is very difficult to explain, and in all honesty, hunters must have a few bucks under their belt. They must know their way around the deer woods, and must learn to think like a deer. If I was a deer, where would I enter this area from and why? You study the terrain, figure it out, and sure enough, on many occasions the deer will travel the trails you've puzzled out.

Hunters with a positive attitude have their game face on whenever they enter a stand. They are out there to hunt, not just spend time outdoors, and they are constantly running the angles through their brain. They are, without knowing it, trying to will a buck to them.

Now, that is a bit of a stretch, and although I'm not saying a person can will a deer to them, I believe the hunter with the right attitude will do more things right than hunters with a different mind-set.

Hunters often refer to those people who always shoot a nice buck to be "lucky." They are not lucky in the normal sense of the word; instead, by having the proper attitude, and the willingness to think things through and do everything right, they can make their own luck.

Hunters who always take a buck with a bow are prepared for a shot

This positive attitude allows hunters to scout more efficiently, pinpoint key buck areas, and to be in the right spot at the right time. This occurs because they believe in themselves and what they are doing.

Hunting means you must believe in yourself, your abilities and hunting skills. If you think negative thoughts, chance are good you'll be daydreaming about the boss you intensely dislike, and a buck will sneak past and be out of range or back in thick cover before it is seen.
You've blown an opportunity.

I can't teach you or anyone else how to develop a proper deer-hunting attitude. You either have it or you don't, and those who do, know what I'm talking about.

Those that don't will never know unless they put this column aside and read it every day before they go hunting. Then, maybe with a tiny bit of common sense and the right attitude, a buck may walk within range of a hunter who is mentally and physically prepared to shoot.

Don’t shoot little bucks

Which buck would you rather shoot? It’s an easy choice, isn’t it?
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

A single belief is a continuing thread that runs through the management of any deer herd. A buck needs time, lots of time, to grow to produce big antlers.

Big-antlered bucks don't just happen. In much of Michigan, a buck seldom lives long enough to really produce big antlers. Often, the first buck with bone on his head that walks past a hunter will get shot.

There is little or no deliberation for most people. Many hunters that see antlers of any size will shoot that buck, and check for size later. The vast majority of these bucks are 1 1/2-years-olds with their first set of antlers.

They get shot with a bow or firearm long before they have any potential for serious growth. For many hunters, killing a buck of this size is just an ego stroke. It offers them bragging rights. Nothing more or less.

Wow! They get to brag about shooting a little basket rack 6-pointer. Or, even worse, they drop a spikehorn. It allows them to say "I got my buck, did you?"

My answer to that statement is: Who cares

Bucks don't just hit the ground at birth with a big set of antlers. It takes time for them to grow, and on average, 3 1/2 years is the minimum. If a buck can reach 4 1/2 years, there is some possibility of seeing the great potential this animal has.

Drop a 1 1/2-year-old buck with his first rack, and that animal will never get larger. The hunter would be far better off, and do the local deer herd a favor by letting the little buck walk and shoot an anterless deer.

I've long maintained that shooting an old doe that has been around for several years is much more difficult than shooting a buck. Bucks can gain some instincts over time, and they may go nocturnal, but stick with a buck long enough and he'll make a mistake. Old does seldom make a life-threatening mistake.

Time, or if you prefer, age is one major factor in a buck living long enough to grow a big rack. It takes three or more years for their antlers to grow thick with long beams, a wide spread and long points.

The only way a buck can live in today's society where they will wear the rack of a big monarch is for hunters to give them a break by shooting a doe instead. Another possibility is if they travel the first year near thick cover, and jump into it at the first gunshot. There, if they are naturally cautious, will keep their head down and not venture out until long after dark.

Everyone talks about deer "going nocturnal," and heavy hunting pressure causes that to happen. If the deer smell too much human scent, see too many sportsmen walking to their stands, or catches a hunter moving while on stand, it sends them scurrying for the nearest patch of thick cover.

If it happens twice to a decent buck the animal may choose to hide out until all the people have left the woods. The bucks then come out, feed and jump back into their sanctuary. Hunting pressure and hunter errors forces deer into this nocturnal feeding-travel pattern.

A plan for hunting success down the road

The bottom line for sportsmen today is to spare some young bucks, and if everyone in the immediate hunting area subscribes to and practices this form of deer management, there will be more and larger bucks within three years.

Hunters can remove excess doe numbers, spare the button bucks, and other young bucks, and in time their chance of seeing and shooting something with an antler spread of at least 18 inches will be much better.

Cut these young bucks down when they still have a puny rack, and you've accomplished nothing toward about building a local herd of better than average deer.

It's a tough sell because there are countless people who listened to their Daddy and old Grandpa who continue to mutter the old folklore idiocies, such as: "You can't have more deer by shooting the mother deer."

That old saw has been proven wrong for so many years it's a wonder anyone still believes it.

We let young bucks live, and if you want good bucks on your land, you better do the same. Big bucks won’t show up overnight, but sparing small bucks for three years will do the job nicely.

Praying for rain

A buck walks through drought-ravaged fields in search of food
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

Rain is a necessary commodity. It has many uses other than messing up the vacation plans of tourists.

The Great Lakes are still low, as are many inland lakes. The woods were bone dry, and when it's as dry as it has been, the chance of a wild fire (once called a forest fire) goes up.

Farmers have been looking for rain, and what we've been given in the past several days hasn’t ended our drought conditions. A drought occurs when the ground is baked dry, and dust puffs up with every step. It's what we've dealt with for months.

Fields are dust-bowl dry

The rain, including that which rumbled through the area about midnight two nights ago, was a heavy downpour. The problem with that is it fell so hard and fast that little soaked into the ground. It's better to get a steady rain that slowly soaks the ground than a deluge.

My food plots look miserable, and I'm hoping rain comes in time to save this years crop. Two or three clover patches look awful, especially during our two-week spate of dry 90-degree weather.

If some rain comes in a few days, as is forecast, we may still have decent food plots. My Imperial Whitetail Clover, Brassica and Purple-Top turnip plantings were almost burned up by the hot sun two and three weeks ago. I'm keeping a close watch on it. Drought conditions just do not produce the quality of food plots that most of us desire.

Many farmers wonder if they will get a decent second-cutting of hay this year. Cornfields are not growing well but some feel a second cutting of hay isn’t in the cards this year either. It's much the same with clover and other things planted as food plots.

Some state areas have had plenty of rain while other locations, such as around Traverse City, has suffered. I'd counted on making three or four plantings but that didn’t work out.

I will hold off on other plantings until next spring, and see how my plots make it. I'd been thinking of some winter wheat planted on some of my woods trails to give the deer some greenery to eat this fall, and it could come up and provide an early source of easy-to-find nourishment. Such a planting this fall is now in doubt.

I’m not a farmer but do the best I can with my food plots

I've said this before, and will say it again, but I'm not well learned in planting and growing things. I discuss my food plots with people I trust, and then hope the weather conditions are suitable for producing good crops.

It's one of these late-in-life situations where I hope to put something back into the resources, provide better cover and food for the animals and birds. I'm learning that Mother Nature has a somewhat perverted sense of humor: she teases us with rain, and then sends it north or south. To add insult to injury, she often decides to send us more snow.

My eyes are peeled for my Imperial Whitetail Clover plantings. Some seems to be greening up a bit, but most of our crop was brown and down. We did the soil tests, planted at the proper time, had a bit of rain early, and then the drought began just as it did several years ago.

It's difficult watching a crop go downhill, but I now have a better understanding of what farmers go through on a yearly basis.  A drought serves no one, whether a farmer growing crops for market or a sportsman who plants crops for the wildlife.

Food plots from other years came up; Not this year

Nature and the weather can be incredibly cruel at times. We invest our sweat equity into seed, fertilizer and lime, and hope for the best, which would be to have a mediocre crop, and it will only happen with even more rain, sunshine and warm weather.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for much more rain. I try to be optimistic in all things, but it’s very hard to think that way this year about food plots.

Time will soon tell whether we will give the land a good drink or if drought condition will continue.