I’m home for the holiday

A guy I once knew, who had plenty of experience, spoke to me about drinking on New Years Eve. He said it was for amateurs. The really dedicated drinker could get hammered any time.

It somewhat describes my feelings about this weekend. I may slide out for two or three hours of fly fishing, but driving any distance over the Labor Day weekend, like dipping snuff, leaves me cold and sneezy.

There are a number of things I can do over the weekend. I've got a muskie fishing trip coming up within 10 days to two weeks, and although I've worked on my lures, oiled and taken care of my rods and reels, there are other things that need to be done.

I’m not lacking in outdoor things to do. I just hope it cools off.

I've got to dig out my old floppy-brim felt hat that shades my eyes. It makes it a bit easier to spot a following muskie 15-20 yards away. I don't always wear it, but have caught some nice fish while wearing the hat. Is it a good-luck charm? I guess it's as good as anything else. Anyone who fishes for muskies need all the help and luck they can get.

A bunch of fishing and hunting books were purchased from an angler in western Ohio. They arrived nearly two weeks ago, and that state has some good muskie lakes (as does nearby Illinois and Pennsylvania), and I've got to get the titles cataloged. Doing so takes time, but there are some good titles on fishing for muskies, salmon, trout and walleyes in the batch. A few turkey books, some on deer hunting, and some on deer and grouse hunting, and they must be sorted through.

I keep a short list of names of people looking for a specific title, and when one shows up, they get first crack. In fact, if a certain title comes in, and no one has spoken for it up to that point, it sells to the first person that wants it. It's a fair and equitable way to do business, and if someone is already at the top of the list,  I tell the next person that he/she is second or third in line. People seem to respect that concept.

Sorting and cataloging those books will provide me with at least two days of work just pulling all that stuff into some semblance of order.

I suspect I'll do a bit of work on some of my tree stands during the early-morning hours just to make certain a big windstorm a week ago didn't loosen up the straps or chains. Climbing into a stand, and finding it wobbly, is not my idea of a good time.

I'll spend a bit of time drinking in the first of the fall color that tinges the leaves along maple ridges. I'll check close to find how tight to some wild grape arbors the grouse are holding at different times of day. I know of several wild grape arbors (ah, ah, ah, don't ask), and periodically during the summer, I'd bust an old biddie and her young ones from the area. I've left them be, but it's important to know what time they move to the different arbors. All are within a two-mile area.

My bird-finding excursions are simple but based on a hunting method I learned many years ago. One of two hunters (or someone who is not carrying a firearm) shuffles in a zigag, stop-and-go manner toward one piece of cover that is totally different from the surrounding habitat. A cut-over maple ridge with a grape arbor near the bottom of the hill is a good example.

Try my one- or two-man “shuffle” for ruffed grouse.

I begin by taking 10-15 steps to the left of a center line to the arbor. I travel at a 45-degree angle with one or two short pauses, shuffle back across that centerline with one or two pauses on another 45-degree angle in the other direction, stop, and head back to the left. The trick is to stop in an area where, if hunting season was open, you'd have room for a clear shot.

Once you near the grape arbor, position yourself properly, and rapidly tap your foot two or three times like the sound of a cat or fox darting in for the kill, and more often than you'd believe, a grouse will flush. Note the time of day, how many birds, and the direction they fly. Most often, if a hen has her brood with her, there will be a thunder of wings exploding from the thick cover.

There are a number of things to do to prepare for the fall hunting seasons. I know I'll keep myself busy while staying off the roadways. Like the old gent told me: holidays are for those who can't do it any other time.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Use the Labor Day weekend to fish or plan for hunting seasons

It's a good question. For many anglers, the answer is easily solved by heading out onto Lake Michigan for some of the best salmon action in years.

For others, who enjoy wading a river, it's Chinook salmon time again. Somefish have moved up the Betsie, Manistee and Pere Marquette rivers prior to spawning, and can be caught on flies, lures or spawn.

Tired of fishing, the early Canada goose season will  open Sept. 1 although with just a few exceptions, I haven't seen many honkers flying around the northern counties.

The early goose season can be good when the birds are flying.

If none of that interests you, try spending some preseason time scouting in advance of the upcoming archery deer season that opens Oct. 1.

Let's take a little closer look at what is going on in the outdoor world over the long Labor Day weekend.

Lake salmon fishing has gone through another decent season. Limit catches are fairly common in many locations, and kings are running up to 18-25 pounds.

Hotspots are all up and down the Lake Michigan shoreline from Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Saugatuck, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Ludington, Manistee, Onekama, Elberta, Frankfort, Platte Bay, Leland, Traverse City (both arms of Grand Traverse Bay), Acme, Elk Rapids, Charlevoix, Petoskey and any spot in-between these ports.

Dodgers and Squids or Sparkle Flies are working well, as are J-plugs, and a whole host of spoons like the ever popular Silver Streak. Some coho have arrived, but very few at this writing, are being caught off Frankfort, Point Betsie and Platte Bay near Honor. Most of the catch are Chinook salmon with the occasional steelhead thrown in to add a bit of spice to an anglers life.

River fishing is fairly good to superb on the Big Manistee River from Tippy Dam downstream to Manistee Lake. Large chunks of skein eggs are an attractive (to the fish. anyway) bait, and plenty of fish are being caught on FlatFish, Tadpollys, Hot 'n Tots and other diving plugs fished with the dropback method through deep holes and runs.

If we get a good cool rain, it can put more salmon into area rivers.

Guide Mark Rinckey of Honor (231-325-6901) has been out checking the Betsie River. Fair to good numbers of salmon are being caught in the Pere Marquette, Grand, Muskegon and other Lake Michigan tributaries. There are no spawning fish yet, and a good cool rain would spark up the action.

Goose season, as noted above, opens Sept. 1. Most of the birds are sitting in secluded areas, on refuge water or near the mouth of many rivers. Many anglers I know may spend time casting to Chinook salmon on rivers near the mouth, and often on opening day, the birds will lift off and fly up or downstream over the heads of fishermen. Those low-flying birds are dead or fully educated on the first day, and hunting the rivers becomes much more difficult after that.

The hunters hunker down near the river bank, and allow the birds to fly overhead before raising up and taking a shot. Make certain you have the necessary state and federal stamps, are  more than 450 feet from any building, and note that only steel or other nontoxic shot is legal. It sometimes can be the best action, but know what lies beyond the flying geese, and make certain it's not another angler on the other side of the river.

Some grain fields that are being or have been cut are naturally attractive to geese. Get landowner permission, and get there early and get set up. Geese often fly at dawn, and hunters need to have their decoys in place long before sun-up.

Not into chasing Canada geese or salmon fishing, but are chomping at the bit to hit the woods for whitetail deer when the Oct. 1 season opens, hunters should consider spending parts of each day watching deer from afar.

Get a jump on preseason scouting for whitetail deer.

Study the animals through binoculars or a spotting scope, and pay close attention to where they enter feeding fields and at what time. This knowledge will allow hunters to pinpoint key areas to put up a tree stand.

Watch deer at the same spot for three evenings, and it's possible to have them pegged. They will still be using those same summer trails on October 1. If the deer are not frightened off by people walking around in their bedding areas, they will probably offer a shot during the early season. This preseason scouting is so important, and it is all too often overlooked by so many hunters.

These are just several things to consider for a weekend pastime. Have fun, be careful and take care of each other.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors