Looking forward to the trout opener

Sometimes I enjoy big-water fishing off the beach

Michigan's trout opener hits the waterways the last Saturday in April. Grear up for another great year of fishing.
photo Dave Richey ©2012

My memories of the general-season trout opener are strung out now over 60 years, back to those days when my late twin brother George and I would have a visual race. It was to see who would be the first to spot the Sturgeon River glinting through the late-April sunlight.

Spotting the river first was as much fun as hooking a fish. We would count down the days to the opener, and in those days, a desperate anticipation overcame us. We were ready, and had been primed for the opener for many lean months.

It became a visceral thing. We could feel it coming, and each check mark on the calendar brought us one day closer to when we could fish our beloved Sturgeon River between Wolverine and Indian River in Cheboygan County.

We could sense the thrill and excitement deep in our guts

We could easily remember the first cold chill of the river current gripping our skinny little legs. We'd pick the brain of George Yontz, the steelhead guru of Hillside Camp, three miles north of Wolverine on old M-27.

We had fresh six-pound line on our reel, sharp No. 6 or 8 Eagle Claw gold hooks, and carried our treasured jars of Atlas salmon eggs. They sold for a buck a jar in those days, but salmon eggs produced better than worms or other bait.

Those early days meant a limit catch of 10 trout per day, and the Wolverine Hatchery and its hatchery truck planted fish just before the opener. It took years of catching lots of small trout in Phase 1 of our trout-fishing education before we arrived at Phase 2. That was when we'd had enough of the tiddlers and wanted more than a flip-flopping small trout.

We were primed and ready. It was an adventure for us

We wanted bigger fish, and it wasn't long before we were catching our fair share of steelhead. That phase of catching big fish stuck with us for many years before we graduated to accepting the challenge of meeting and greeting our trout in tough places where catching any trout -- large or small -- was a difficult challenge.

Many opening days have passed with the speed of an old man racing headlong through life, each year passing even faster than the previous one. To think that 60 years have gone by, and I've been out there for every opener to capture the moment with fly rod, spinning rod of camera, is a testament to my devotion to these grand game fish.

There have been a few openers where the Blue Wing Olives and Hendrickson's hatched well, but more often, the opener produced high winds, rain, and very often snow, and the fishing wasn't worth beans.

Art Neumann of Saginaw always handled the countdown

However, trout fishing isn't all about catching fish. It means meeting old friends, discussing past openers, learning who had fished around their last bend, who was ill and couldn't fish, and where the hot-spots might be later in the day.

For 23 years I covered the opener for the newspaper, and that usually meant very little fishing. Sometimes, if the action was good, I could shoot photos and write my copy, and still have time to fish for an hour or two.

Trout fishing also was George's love, and we shared so many wonderful days together on so many Michigan streams, and each one brought both of us a sense of peace and tranquility. We often didn't talk because twins know what the other is thinking. It's true in many cases, and especially for us. We didn't need to speak.

George and I could always communicate without talking

Many times I'd nod my head, George would spot the Hendrickson lift off the surface, and we both marveled at this transformation from a nymph to a flying insect. Sometimes a grunt and a look would indicate a mink running the bank or the flash of a trout under a sweeper.

We spent so many years greeting the dawn somewhere on a trout stream. We both loved the Holy Waters of the AuSable and Manistee rivers, but sometimes we would be on a steelhead stream or fishing a back-of-beyond beaver pond. Tiny cedar-shrouded jump-across creeks and brook trout were on the agenda at times, and occasionally we would fly-fish trout lakes.

Trout fishing, unlike a sport where a score is kept, was much closer to being a deeply religious experience to us. It was something we felt strongly about, and although in George's later years he would rather fly fish for bluegills than trout, he never lost his love of trout, trout fishing and the places where these game fish live.

It's up to me to carry on that tradition alone or perhaps with my son, David. But even that is out of the question this year as he heads for Florida to fish for tarpon.

I still enjoy fishing alone, do so often

It's OK, because sometimes fishing alone puts a person in a much different mood. We become more humble, easily satisfied, and we thrill to the magic of a rise, and we always are blessed to just be there for one more trout opener.

And just think, we have less than two weeks before the state-wide season opens on the last Saturday in April. I don't know where I'll be, but it will be on trout water, somewhere. Bet on it!

The squirrel wars

Hunting squirrels after the corn picker comes along will work.

The fox squirrel was making his move. He was putting a stalk on our backyard bird feeder.

Squirrels must have poor memories. They spend all summer and fall hoarding food for winter, but they apparently forget where they left their stash of goodies. This bushytail was advancing on our bird feeders in a flanking maneauver, and I waited for him to start up the tree.

The door was rattled, and I swear that bushytail cleared 10 feet and hit the snowy ground running. He will wait until he can get away with it, and try to empty the sunflower seed feeder.

Black, fox, grey & red squirrels have a never-give-up attitude for our bird seed.

Squirrel season used to end at the end of December, but now the season runs through March 1. And it's a made-to-order hunt on those days when the snow is skimpy or nonexistent, and when the weather is warm on a winter's day.

Would I shoot one off the bird feeder? Of course not, but between chipmunks, red squirrels and their larger cousin -- the fox squirrel -- it has been a war around here for years.

Bought a 50-pound bag of sunflower seeds lately. How about thistle seeds or Niger seeds? No, well they are expensive and the prices for seed never goes down.

I don't believe there is any such thing as a squirrel-proof bird feeder. I've seen them shinny up a fiberglass pole attached to the railing. It was supposed to be squirrel-proof, but they figured out a way to climb it anyway.

One squirrel will make a mess of the bird feeder. If two or three nutcrackers move in, and nothing is done about it, they will empty a bird feeder every day. They run off, their cheeks puffed out with bird seeds until they look like they have a goiter, and five minutes later, they head back on another raid.

Deer hunting ended today amid a howling wind and snow. There is still snow in the woods for hunting cottontails or snowshoe hares, and it's over three months until the turkey season opens, so if you hanker a bit of excitement, go winter squirrel hunting.

Winter squirrel season never has to take you far from home.

There was a corn field near our house last summer, and some corn kernels still litter the ground. The corn will attract squirrels, but with the  earlier deep snow, bushytails found themselves out of a food source. Most of the corn from the nearby fields has been eaten by deer, geese and squirrels, and they are now looking for another free handout.

I'm tired of them at the bird feeder. I don't share the same opinion of squirrels as some people who have unsuccessfully fought squirrel wars for more years than they can remember. They call these critters tree rats or wood rats, and other less complimentary mixes of strong Anglo-Saxon words. which, I believe, has led to the longer winter season.

They are persistent little buggers. It's that nevergive-up attitude of theirs that makes them a nuisance.

The best way to fight the squirrel wars is to grab up the shotgun and head for the woods. Sit down near a trail of squirrel tracks, sit still, and wait for them to show their long tails. They never expect to be hunted during the winter, and it takes a while for them to smarten up.

Shoot one squirrel, and just sit still. Other nearby squirrels may chatter and carry on but soon their curiosity will get the best of them. They head out to get something else to eat, or to investigate the noise, and it's fairly easy to shoot five squirrels on a sunny and warm afternoon.

What works? Black-powder pistol or shotgun, .22 rifle or a shotgun.

Don't worry. Taking a limit of fox squirrels isn't going to hurt their population one bit. Shoot their numbers down, and you soon learn one of Nature's truisms: Nature abhors a vacuum.

Once some squirrels are taken, other squirrels move in to fill the empty space. It becomes a never-ending problem.

Years ago, when I was a kid, most people hunted nutcrackers with a rifle. The bullet from a puny .22 can carry over a mile if someone was to shoot at a squirrel up in the tree-tops. There are too many people around now, and the wide-open spaces of years ago are all filled up with houses and people.

Be safe and smart, and use a shotgun. Don't forget your Hunter Orange clothing, and you'll be able to shoot them on the ground or up in a tree. Use No. 6 shot, and it will be deadly medicine.

One thing about hunting nutcrackers. You'll put some mighty fine food on your table with five winter squirrels, and there will be fewer of the animals around next spring to invade your bird feeders.

And that's just fine with me.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Late-season deer hunting

Cold weather will make bucks move. Be alert to it.

K, Christmas is over and out of the way, and I managed to continue my longtime shopping record. Chalk up another year that I failed to make it into the first store to buy gifts.

Many may consider me Scrooge or a dummy, but I dislike shopping with a passion and my wife dislikes it as well but she does enjoy buying for the little grandkids and our great-grandsons.

Now me, I'm content to watch her trudge out the door. I can tell, because I'm a trained observer, that Kay doesn't care one bit about joining the Christmas shopping throng at the local stores. I wish her good luck before Christmas when she went shopping, and I'd often have her drop me off at a friend's house and I'd climb into a tree stand for a few hours.

It seemed the perfect situation: her shopping and me hunting.

There I was, out in the weather with muzzleloader or bow in hand, depending on the season, and she would stop and pick me up three or four hours later. It seemed to make perfect sense to me. She dislikes hunting in cold weather, and I can't say it's my favorite thing to do but there was little cold temps to worry about.

Each day I'd watch for deer. Some days a few would pop out, and I'd make the decision to shoot or don't shoot. The hunt wasn't about killing a deer so much as it was about hunting for deer.

As my butt snuggled deeper into the foam rump pad, I'd think warm thoughts while the end of my bow was tucked into the top of my left rubber boot. My release was on the string, and seeing and hoping to shoot a deer meant waiting for the proper time to draw and shoot.

Numerous button-bucks and doe fawns were seen, and several mature does, but bucks with significant bone between their ears were conspicuous by their absence. As a matter of fact, not one well-antlered buck dared show his rack at any of my hunting spots.

Two or three small bucks were seen during December in another hunting location but they were always too away from my preferred bow range of 15 yards. A buck at 25 yards if outside my vision, and therefore outside of my shooting range with a bow. And, I don’t shoot small bucks,

No big bucks were seen this fall, and I’ve shot enough small bucks.

Shooting a muzzleloader is a bit different. I have a good scope on my black powder rifle, and can easily shoot bucks at 150-175 yards. I love my center-fire rifles, but thoroughly enjoy shooting bucks (and does when I have the proper permits) with a front-end loader.

The slightly colder weather is a turn-on for me because I know whitetails must move in colder weather. I'm still hoping for two or three days of 10-degree weather. When it gets that cold, I know the whitetail bucks and does will be up and moving.

The burning question right now is will we see weather that cold before the season shuts down on the evening of New Years Day. It looks very doubtful that we will have such weather until well into January when the season has shut down.

I don’t think we’ll have any bone-chilling cold between now and New Years Day.

Who knows? If all the talk about global warming is true, than what we are not seeing is what we'll probably be getting in the years to come. With the warmer weather will be more east winds, more swirling winds, less cold temperatures, possibly less snow, and a quicker spring break-up. It doesn't sound like my kind of winter deer-hunting weather.

So, between now and then, there is no shopping left to do. What excuse can I use to have Kay drop me off at one of my favorite spots, and pick me up on the way home?

I'll need to come up with something to get me through these last few days.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Some hunt with bow in gun season

A small doe trails behind a decent buck in the fog.

A buddy of mine was hunting one of my stands tonight, and it is surrounded on three sides by a watery alder thicket and the fourth side by an open field that runs through the rolling hills.

He wanted a nice fat doe for the freezer and could care less about arrowing a buck. I put him in an elevated coop, told him to sit still and wait for a broadside shot at a doe.

Arrowing a buck? OK, so what that it’s only the second day of the firearm deer season. There are many hunters, myself included, who occasionally choose to wear camo gear and a Hunter Orange hat, and take to the woods with stick and string while everyone else hunts with a firearm.

Many bow hunters like the added challenge of competing against firearms.

Over many years, I've hunted the entire firearm season with a bow. There's something about the added challenge of competing against 750,000 firearm hunter with more primitive gear.

He started seeing deer shortly after he climbed up tino the stand. A doe and button buck came early but the little buck was always between him and the doe. They fed off into the alders, and then an 8-point with gleaming white antlers showed up. Another doe and fawn tried to come in to feed but the buck ran them off before he could get a shot.

Finally that buck left, and a small buck wandered in, and then they left . The big buck wouldn't allow any other deer around it, and then there wasn't a deer in sight.

This is how deer hunting often goes in northern farmland areas, It's possible to sit for several days and not see a but, and then all of a sudden, a small buck of deer will pass through, The hunter must be vigilant at all times.

It was a common thing in northern farmland areas. Many deer travel together.

"I'm sitting there with perhaps 15 minutes of legal shooting time left and two big does walked in and kept right on going," he told me. "I was just getting ready to put my bow away when I spotted a fawn and a nice doe approaching. The fawn was almost the size of her mother, and I decided to shoot the doe fawn and allow the doe to live another year."

He watched the mother and fawn walk up and stand 10 yards out from his elevated coop, and the fawn stood eight or 10 feet behind the big doe. He came to full draw on the fawn, and when the red-dot settled in behind her front shoulder, he touched the trigger release.

"Just as I stroked the trigger," he said," I saw the doe's nose appear. The arrow hit, and although I was aiming at the fawn, I couldn't tell for certain which deer I hit.

"The orange Game Tracker line went out, sputtered once and stopped. It stuttered again, and several more feet went out, and then the line stopped moving entirely."

He waited until he could get some help and stronger lights, and me and four other guys with lights followed the Game Tracker string for about 100 yards. He found the top portion of his arrow shaft, and we continued following the string and blood.

Tracking the string almost to the deer.

The deer was on a runway and stuck with it, and suddenly the line veered off to the right. We continued following the string but now there was no blood. Fifteen yards later we came to the frayed end of the tracking line, spread out and couldn't find any blood.

We backtracked to where the tracking line took the sudden swerve, found more blood and found the deer within 20 yards.

"A Game Tracker string has saved many deer for me and other hunters," he said. "When we couldn't find blood beyond the end of the string, it was decided to look for blood where the deer swerved. I suspect another deer got tangled in the string and took it out.

That deer, and thousands of other deer, have been successfully found by using the Game Tracker device. It is a wonderful tool for bow hunters, and although my friend's arrow double-lunged the animal, it still went a fair distance before falling.

Everyone who hunts should use this string tracking device when hunting thick cover. We've used it since it was invented some three decades ago, and we still use it for one very specific reason: it helps us recover wounded deer.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors