Bow Quivers: On Or Off The Bow

BASIC CHOICES

Life is about making personal choices. None of us must follow other hunters like a flock of sheep, and do as they do.
This applies as well to bow hunting as anything else. Every bow hunter worthy of the name has his or her way of doing things, and often they turn out right. We all learn from the best teacher, experience.
Bow quivers are a case in point. Should hunters leave the quiver on the bow while sitting in a stand and shooting or should they take the quiver off to minimize weight and to remove an unnecessary item that could easily tangle in tree limbs and mess up a shot?
I'll go first, and throw my hat in the ring and voice my opinions. I climb into a tree stand, and after attaching my full-body safety harness to the tree and my body, I sit down, and use the haul rope to raise my bow from ground level. The bow quiver is then removed and placed elsewhere on the tree after one arrow is removed. I often hang the quiver on a nearby limb where it will help break up my silhouette.
Once the quiver in hung, I unscrew the broadhead and attach my Game Tracer string behind the FirstCut broadhead, and screw it into my Maxima carbon arrow shaft.
I attach the release to the string, stuff the lower limb of my C.P. Oneida Black Eagle bow into my left boot, and relax. I hunt and shoot sitting down, and my stands are positioned so bucks usually come from behind me and on my left side.

PREP and PATIENCE

If the deer follows his normal pattern, he will approach from behind and on my left side. I'm right-handed, so when the buck comes within shooting range, and looks the other way, I start my draw and as I reach full draw, the lower limb clears my boot and is clear of my leg, the stand or any tree branches.
This allows for a minimum of movement, is very quiet, and oh so effective once a hunter becomes used to it. This method of drawing a bow wouldn't be possible if my bow quiver was still attached.
The arrow shafts, vanes or even the quiver could get caught up in clothing, limbs or branches. But there is another reason why my quiver comes off my bow when I begin hunting.
It reduces the overall bow weight. Not much, mind you, but when hunting in a variety of locations, sooner or later a bow quiver is going to hang up on something. I remove all possibilities of that happening by taking it off and hanging it some place where it is out of my way.

COMMON SENSE TIPS

Whenever I watch a television show, or hunt with someone who always leaves his or her quiver on the bow, it makes me wonder how many lost opportunities have occurred because of that quiver.
A bow is a one-shot piece of archery equipment. It's not like hunting with a bolt, pump or semi-automatic firearm. Unless the wind is very strong and noisy, second shots at a buck are so rare as to almost be nonexistent.
A bow quiver on a bow, doesn't speed up getting off a second shot at a deer. It is somewhat awkward to reach to the quiver, pull out another arrow, reach across the bow to nock it, and prepare to shoot. Chances are, any self-respecting buck with heavy headgear will be gone if you miss the first shot.
I often use my bow to help camouflage my upper body and head. I wear a face mask while hunting, and can still turn the bow inside my left boot so the handle and upper limb breaks up my silhouette. If a deer offers a shot, a simple and slow half-turn of the wrist will point the bow toward the animal as the hunter comes to full draw.
Such a movement may or may not be necessary, and that is a debatable point, but it would be impossible to do with a bow quiver attached. For me, that is a strong reason for removing the quiver.
The slight added weight of a bow quiver (even a three-arrow quiver like I use) can allow a hunter to unknowingly cant the bow to that side. Is it enough, under the pressure of a nearby buck, to throw the arrow off its intended course?
I don't know and don't care to test the theory. My preference is to shoot a bow unencumbered by a quiver. It's my thought that it simplifies things, reduces weight, eliminates canting, and besides ... it works for me.
Anyone willing to plead their case for keeping a bow quiver on a bow while hunting is encouraged to contact me. You won't change your mind, I won't change mine, but I'd love to hear your philosophy.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

King Salmon: Heart-Pounding River Action

BUMP - BUMP - ACTION!

A large male king salmon held almost motionless in a four-foot-deep run along the edge of an undercut bank. Long tendrils of grass hung down, creating some problem in accurately placing a fly.
My fly would swing past his nose, time and again, and he’d either back away or ignore it. The casting became repetitious, cast, drift, lift the line and fly out and cast again and again.
After perhaps 50 casts the big male moved forward an inch or two to intercept and inhale  the wet fly as it drifted near bottom. The fly’s drift simply stopped, and only one thing makes that happen.
The rod tip slashed back with a forceful hook-set, and the 17-pound king uncorked a jump that would have made any fish proud. The big buck salmon surged upstream, throwing up a wake in the shallow water, made another belly-smacker jump and the yellow-orange fly hung from its lip like a lit cigar. Rod pressure was applied, and the fish took off on another short, stuttering run.
Minutes later the fish rolled up on its side, and rod pressure  slowly skidded the fish up onto a gravel shingle, and the hook was wiggled free. The fish was held upright in the current until it gathered its energy, and swam off toward the deep holding water. It was 15 minutes and 200 yards of river that was traveled to beach this hefty fish.

KING SALMO ON FLY

It’s still a bit early, and the water is still too warm for active spawning, but salmon have begun their spawning runs. This is a fly-rodding sport unequaled by any other river fishery in this or almost any other state.
There are king salmon in varying numbers up the AuSable, East Branch of the AuGres, Betsie, Boardman,  Cheboygan, Little Manistee, Manistee, Muskegon, Pere Marquette, Pentwater, Rifle, White and many other streams that are tributary to Lakes Huron and Michigan.
Cooling air temperatures and a good cool rain will lower river water temperatures and cause king salmon of both sexes to head upstream to find spawning gravel. It’s here during the next four weeks where flyrodders can find great fly rod action.

IF YOU DECIDE TO GO

..take this advice from an old river guide who originated most of these techniques 45 years ago.

• Wear polarized sunglasses and slowly walk the river banks and study the water. Stay out of the water until you spot fish, and then slowly move within casting distance. Slowly can mean taking 20-30 minutes to get to within 30-40 feet of the fish. Move slowly, and if the fish start milling around, stop and remain motionless until they settle down.

• Fish only for the males. If fish numbers are scarce, and the female is hooked or caught, the reason for the males to hold in that spot is gone. They will disappear in search of another female.

• Sight-fishing for visible fish seems like it should be easy, but it isn’t until you’ve got a few trips under your belt. Learn to read current speed, depth of water, and sinking time in fast water. Flies should be tied in sizes 4 and 6. I usually used wet fly and nymph patterns.

• Two fly categories exist: attractor and imitator patterns. The attractor patterns are tied with bright colors while imitator patterns are tied in shades of black, brown, gray, dark green, etc. On any given day, fish will go for an attractor or imitator pattern. Choose one pattern, and if after 15 minutes of pitching it to a salmon without a take, switch. It also pays to switch from smaller to larger sizes or vise versa.

• Anglers can choose shooting heads, sinking fly lines, floating lines with a sinking tip for shallow water, but in many areas where a back cast is impossible and a roll cast won’t allow the fly to go deep enough to interest the fish, it may be time to switch to the chuck-and-duck method.

This method means using enough split-shot to take the fly deep. My choice is to determine depth and current speed, and add just enough weight to take the fly to the proper depth, which means scratching along the gravel. Carry a hook hone to keep the hook points razor sharp.

• Casting positions vary depending on location and water current conditions, but my preference is to cast from below the fish. If fishing with a fly line, mend the line often to slow the drift and keep the fly near bottom. If chucking-and-ducking, I still prefer a downstream approach. Read the water speed, water depth, and cast quartering up and across. Strip line as the fly comes down, and make certain the fly line or shooting head, lead core line or whatever you use is out of the fish’s sight. Fish each cast out but once the fly drifts past the fish’s nose without a hit, lift the line out and cast again in a quick, repetitious manner. Don’t wait for a salmon to chase it downstream. It doesn’t happen.

It’s possible to be a bit more precise with the split-shot, monofilament (usually testing 10-12 pounds) and fly. The split-shot will take the fly deep must faster than a fly line, even if the  leader has a split-shot or two a foot up the leader from the fly. Once the fly passes the fish’s nose, lift the fly out and cast again. You’ll soon learn that a cast too close to a fish will spook it, and judging exactly where to place the fly takes time to learn so take your time and don’t get discouraged.

• I don’t care how skilled you are as a fly caster, if you cast enough times to a motionless salmon, if your cast is off a little bit, there is a chance of foul-hooking the fish. If this happens, don’t set the hook but jiggle the line to make the fly fall off. Or wait for the fish to move and often the fly will fall off. Occasionally salmon will hit a fly hard but you can’t count on it happening. Most takes are very soft as the fish picks up the drifting fly, moves it a few inches and drops it.

• Some people don’t feel competent at casting flies. Guide Mark Rinckey of Honor (231) 325-6901 uses spinning gear with bait or spinners to catch king salmon in the Betsie River. He has a night job, and may be sleeping or guiding when you call so leave your name and number on the answering machine and the best time to call.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Counting Coup On A Buck

It was a blistering hot day in western North Dakota as I hunted antelope with a bow several years ago. The ground was dry as a bone, and there was no escape from the sun and sweltering 95-degree heat.
I was making a long stalk on a big antelope buck surrounded by other goats, and trying to get close enough for a bow shot took me through some low brush and a few scattered trees. I was moving low and slow, stopping often to look at the antelope 100 yards away.
It was during one of these pauses that I looked ahead to check the big buck antelope and spotted a mule deer buck bedded down only 15 yards away. I was hunting into the wind, and the mulie buck was bedded down with his nose into the wind. He apparently didn't expect danger to come at him from behind. This buck was about the same size as the photo of a mullie buck shot by me in Wyoming.

COUNT COUP

He was safe because I only had an antelope tag. I was too close to try to circle the buck, and to turn around might spook the animal. I decided to do as some High Plains Indians used to do during a battle, and that was to "count coups."Coup is a French word, and is pronounced "coo."
"Webster describes it as a highly successful, unexpected strike, act, or move," said Douglas Deihl, director of Indian and Ethnographic Art at Skinner, Incorporated, in Boston, quoted from a published article. "It is a clever action or accomplishment."
He said the High Plains Indians, such as the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Crow or Sioux, often used a coup stick or bone or willow riding quirt to touch an enemy.
"In Plains warrior societies," Deihl explained, "Sioux warriors gained their status by being brave in battle, and one way this was done was known as 'counting coups.'
"What the Indian warriors tried to do was get close enough to the enemy to touch them without getting injured or killed. Doing so was considered more honorable than going in and killing and scalping them. To touch the enemy and survive was considered the greatest honor in battle. This put the warrior close to the enemy, which offered a great risk and required more courage than shooting them from a distance."

BLISTERED COUP

The mule deer buck was now less than 10 yards away, and the tension was mounting. Each step was a soft and very slow movement forward. The forward toe felt softly for any stick or piece of brush that may snap or make a noise.
Once the foot was placed, the other foot came forward, feeling for a noiseless place to set it down. Foot by slow foot brought me ever closer to the mulie buck, and I was alert to his every small movement.
I was perspiring in the heat, and was surprised his instincts had not warned him of my presence. I was hunched over in a low crouch to prevent being seen by the antelope. I eventually remembered the bow as I stalked closer.
I was now within six feet, and could have leaped on the buck, but that's not how counting coups is done. It is the classic pitting of one's skills against the other, and although it was done by one armed Indian against another in the old days, in this case it was man versus animal.
Each step brought a mounting sense that the deer would leap to his feet before I could touch him. Another step was taken, and the buck moved his head slightly, but didn't turn to look at me. I eased forward another step, and was now only four feet away. Another small step was needed.
Ever so slowly the last step was taken, and I was directly behind the buck now. I settled into a kneeling position, intuitively bowed my head in respect to the buck, and slowly reached out and put my left hand on his left back leg.
The buck turned his head, looked back at me, and our eyes met, and then he bolted, nearly running me over as he headed away. One might wonder how the antelope hunt played out. I stalked within 20 yards of a buck but a roll in the land contour kept me from getting a shot at its vitals. It didn't matter.
On that day, I had counted coup on a mule deer buck. It was similar to an Indian brave doing the same to an enemy warrior, except under admittedly less dangerous conditions.

PUBLISHED COUP

I've since done it twice on whitetails, and each time under  windy and wet conditions. Whitetails are more spooky than mule deer, but no matter. Under Webster's definition, I've also counted coup by telling my story to my readers.
It is one of the most exciting hunting methods, and it doesn't always work. In fact, it rarely works, and only with the right conditions (a sleepy mule deer) or two whitetails during a wet and windy storm can be claimed by me.
Each time it worked was exciting, but I shall never forget the first time I counted coup on a wild deer. It's more exciting than shooting a trophy buck.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Never Trust A Black Bear

A bear may look cute and cuddly like a toy bear, but people who live in bear country know looks can be deceiving. They also know that if a person is within 100 yards of a bruin, his or her life could be in danger.
"These wild bears are not Disney cartoon characters," Marquette author Richard P. Smith said. "A black bear can outrun a horse on flat ground for 50 yards, and they possess incredible strength and agility. They are very unpredictable and can cause great harm or death to an unwary person."
Smith has written Understanding Michigan Black Bears: The Truth About Bears and Bear Hunting. It can be ordered directly from

Smith Publications
814 Clark Street
Marquette, MI 49855

It is available for $19.50 postpaid. He also has written Black Bear Hunting, and it sells for $38 postpaid, at the above address.
Michigan’s black bear season first begins on Sept. 10 in the Upper Peninsula, and about a week later in the Lower Peninsula bear management units.
Black bear encounters can be sticky or the bruin will run at the first sight or smell of a human. Each bear encounter can be different, but attacks are rare.

Here are some recorded black bear attacks where the animal didn't follow the rules.

• The Early 1900s: Frank Devereaux, of the Cheboygan area, was attacked by a bruin after he shot the animal in the flank with a muzzleloader. The bear struck the man on the head and killed him after biting him on the leg. The animal was later found dead a short distance from Devereaux's body.
  A wood sign was placed at his grave site and it reads: "Here lies F. Devereaux, killed by the ferocity of a famous bear, in whose memory this monument has been erected out of generosity of his grandson." A marble headstone was added years later. One wonders, the way this is written, whether the monument was for Devereaux or the bear.
  
  

• July 7, 1948: Three-year-old Carol Ann Romranky lived with her parents in the Upper Peninsula in a remote U.S. Forest Service fire-tower cabin near Brimley. The girl was playing outside when a 125-pound bear pulled her off the cabin porch. The animal dragged her into the woods, killed her by biting through her neck -- severing her spine -- and fed on the body. The bear was killed the same day as it returned to feed on the girl's corpse.

• June 5, 1960: Arthur DeGault, 71, of Engadine was attacked by a sow with three cubs. The man happened on the bears by accident, and when he tried to get away, she attacked and bit his thigh. He hit the sow with his fist, and it stood erect to swat and bite him as he tried to back away. He drew a knife and stabbed the bear several times. The bruin fled, and he walked a mile to his home. His injuries required 100 stitches.

• July, 1975: Paul Cameron, 16, of Dearborn, was camping in the Upper Peninsula's Porcupine Mountains. He awoke in the morning and heard a bear prowling around. The animal knocked his tent down and began dragging it away.
  Cameron rolled from the tent, lay motionless on the ground, and the bruin grabbed him by the throat with its teeth. He screamed, and the bear dropped him and ran away. A 125-pound sow with two cubs was later killed as they ransacked his abandoned tent.
  

• Autumn, 1976: Joe Newman, Sr. of Palmer was grouse hunting and nearly stepped on two sleeping bear cubs. They screamed, and Newman was charged by the sow. The bear was shot three times at point-blank range with a 20-gauge shotgun. Newman was not injured.

• June, 1978: Michael Patterson, 19, of Alma, was attacked by a boar and climbed a balsam tree to escape. His back and legs had been bitten and scratched by a bear, but he died of a ruptured lung and kidney. It's thought a bear pulled him from the tree, and the fall killed him.

• September 19, 1982: John Skosnik of Warren was bear hunting and apparently shot a sow that was accompanied by unseen cubs. The wounded sow charged the hunter and bit him numerous times before leaving.

Bears are very unpredictable. There have been several very close encounters between me and adult black bears but I have never had a major problem, and the same holds true for Richard Smith, but we both know the next bruin we meet may prove to be an exception to the rule.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Exploring For Autumn Brook Trout

A major thrill when prospecting for those speckled little fish with a square tail, white piping along their fins and blue spots along a dappled flank, is finding them. They can be pretty good at hiding themselves, especially in early September as they head into their spawning season.
This is the time of year when I love old two-tracks through the woods, over-grown and faint trails, and following the twists and turns of a creek flowing through a cedar swamp.

LOCATION

Find flowing water, and follow it upstream or down, and when the trail doesn't peter out at a bridge, then it becomes time to put on your hiking boots and go exploring. It's also a time to carry a good compass, because I've been in some of these situations where it's easy to get turned around or lost.
The fact you are  reading this piece is proof positive that I was able to find my way out. But, on occasion, it meant many miles of unnecessary walking through rugged country.
Often, it's not a long walk but one never knows what they will find. It could be a beaver pond filled with muck and little water, or a gleaming one-acre pond glistening in the early fall sunshine and nearly as beautiful as the fish we seek.
Sometimes the creek remains a creek and is thick and overgrown, and here we dap a single-hook spinner in holes under the root wads of cedar or spruce trees. This water flowing through the roots is caused by centuries of flowing water seeking its easiest route downstream.
There are times when a brookie will be hiding under  every opening that gives access to the water, and these fish are always hungry. One moves from hole to hole, dapping a tiny spinner into each hole.
Some of these creeks will produce brook trout and some will not. That's the thing about these game fish: they aren't always where an angler expects to find them. Some will be found in an open stream hiding alongside a fallen tree branch; others may be in the deeper holes of a larger river; and most require a long and dedicated search.

EXPLORATION

Several years ago, after covering the AuSable River Canoe Marathon, I was heading for West Branch on business. Halfway between Tawas City and West Branch, an urge came to me and it took me down a dirt road for several miles.
The road eventually turned into a two-track, and it took me down a hill and I soon spotted a glint of sunlight off water. I checked it out, and there was a beaver pond. It was one I'd fished nearly 50 years before, and it produced trout again.
"Seek and ye shall find" is an old saying, and it is doubly true for September brook trout anglers. Brookies are easy -- too easy -- to catch once they have been found, but finding the fish can be a definite problem or the perfect reward.
I was lucky to again find that spot near West Branch after all those years that had passed somce I'd last fished it, but if I hadn't taken the initiative, and followed my gut instincts, that experience would have been lost.

IT'S ABOUT BROOK TROUT

I'm a writer, and as a rule writers are curious and inquisitive people. They want to learn things they don't know, and perhaps I was born to be a writer. Many things interest me, but none more so than tracking down a hot new brook trout hotspot.
There have been boot-sucking mud, old bogs that stink, and crystal-clear little creeks where the brook trout are easily seen. Some of these spots where brook trout call home are way back of beyond while others lurk closer than we think.
It's the search that attracts me. It's a bit like fishing, something like hunting, and often a pleasure when we learn that the spot holds brookies. In years gone by, when I was more up to such things, I'd often try to find five or 10 new brook trout hotspots in one day.
The next day I'd do it all over again but in a different location. After two days of searching, and marking spots on my maps, I'd start fishing each one in turn. Some produced only tiny little brookies that were the size of a finned jewel.
Other spots would produce 12 to 14-inch fish, and some were very darkly colored while others were a lighter hue. Often these spots would be within a half-mile of each other, and the fish wore distinctive coats of different colors.
That's the fun and the joy of brook trout fishing. One never knows what color or size the brookie may be, but it's always a pleasant surprise. Brook trout never disappoint me, even when the season ends at the end of the month.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Ethics & Hunter Education Is The Glue That Holds Hunting Together

All people are bound by the laws of man to live by a code of ethics, but sportsmen have additional values to be considered if we are to be judged for what we believe are ethical actions.
Hunter ethics reach farther than many sportsmen believe. They include a feeling and a deep appreciation for the fish we catch, the animals and birds we hunt, the outdoor environment we and wildlife need and share, and the deep inner stimulation we feel when pursuing our pastimes in an ethical, legal and well regulated manner.
This personal ethics policy hinges on those deeply-seated feelings sportsmen must have for the well being and continued health, welfare and habitat improvement of game animals and birds as well as non-game animals and birds and fish. Sportsmen must care deeply about what happens to all wildlife, and not just those species for which there is an open or closed fishing or hunting season.
The habitat that the small warblers call home in Michigan is every bit as important to everyone in this state as that used by ducks, geese, pheasants, ruffed grouse, wild turkeys and woodcock.
But fishing and hunting ethics go far beyond this simple, yet personal, concept that govern our actions. Michigan laws place additional ethical demands on hunters, making our special-interest outdoor groups the most regulated in the state.
Young or older beginning hunters no longer can pick up a firearm and head for the woods, fields or marshes without lengthy and well supervised Hunter Education training class. The same rules apply to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1960. Any first-time hunter born on or after that date must possess a valid hunter education certificate to purchase their first hunting license.
These hunter safety certificates also are required to buy a nonresident license in other states and some Canadian provinces. Many tales are told about trying to buy a Colorado over-the-counter elk tag. Hunters without the proper certification must take an expensive test to prove competency or go home disappointed.
They must pass a rigorous examination and satisfy qualified instructors on their capability to hunt safely without endangering others, themselves or the property of landowners. They must understand the laws that govern their conduct while hunting, and now is when people should attend fall classes.
These training classes teach students how to handle bows and firearms safely, give explanations of wildlife management, teach game laws, and make certain that students understand the laws of safe hunting. They are common-sense rules that can help keep us safe.
All are necessary to obtain an in-depth knowledge of hunter safety, but ethics -- personal ethics -- are almost spiritual inner feelings, something that must come from deep within each individual. They are as much a part of fishing and hunting as carrying a fly rod onto a stream or a firearm or when hunting from a tree stand with a bow.
Hunting, and the freedom to hunt, is a part of our American heritage that should be as rich and deep as love of our family and this great country. The American Constitution guarantees us the right to keep and bear arms, but those arms must be used in a civilized and lawful manner.
This constitutional guarantee obligates sportsmen to abide by local, state and federal fish and game laws, and to have respect for themselves, the lives and property of others, and obviously, for the fish or wildlife they pursue.
Recreational fishing and hunting is a sound management policy designed to keep fish and wildlife around in desirable numbers for the enjoyment of future generations of sportsmen and those who have no desire to fish or hunt but enjoy the recreational value of viewing deer, elk and other game or a day on the water with rod in hand.
These pastimes satisfy a deep personal need for many people, and hunting can be a deeply moving experience. But they are as individual as our fingerprints. Each of us who fishes or hunts has a different viewpoint on how we should view our days afield.
Ethics, and the feelings hunters have for their sport and the wildlife we hunt, is an emotional package so deeply rooted and meaningful that it's difficult to put into words so non-hunters or anti-hunters can understand.
We, as anglers and hunters, must develop our own personal code of ethics which goes beyond those laws and rules established by any sporting agency or group. Our sport will be judged by its personal and collective sense of ethics, and the public actions of its many individuals.
Fishing and hunting actions and needs require a code of personal ethics to survive ... not only now but well into the future. How we behave now will determine whether we will have fishing and hunting in the not-so-distant future.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

My Archaic Sense Of Justice

It was something of an insult. I'm sure the reader didn't mean it the way it sounded, but it came across as a personal insult.
A reader told me that I have an archaic sense of protecting our fish and game and other natural resources from poachers. He chided me for being so concerned about the welfare of our poached birds, fish, fur and game.
He said I should let the DNR worry about it. They are trained to do the job, and if they can't catch the poachers, too bad. I wondered whether he had ever picked up the phone and dialed the RAP Hotline phone number (800-292-7800) to report a poaching incident in progress.
I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way he does. Poachers are basically opportunistic people, and break the law whenever they think they can get away with it. That line of thinking is dead wrong.

POACHER HABITS HURT

Years ago I did a newspaper story about a joker who was proud of being arrested more times than anyone else in the state for fish and game law violations. He boasted that he'd been arrested on one or more charges more than 50 times. When I had those numbers checked, it was well over 60 violation. He’d forgotten some of them.
The guy is a bit younger than me, and I once figured up that he'd spent several years in the hoosegow. Man, everyone wants to be popular and known for something in their life, but being the state's most famous poacher?

One rule to keep in mind: It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice. Poachers aren’t nice people.

Is poaching something to be proud of? I think not. One might think he has fish eggs for brains after having speared as many steelhead as he did during a long and largely unproductive poaching career.
A few weeks ago I wrote about anglers and hunters who really don’t care about the fish and game. It's becoming even more prevalent by the day. Apathy is alive and well in the sense that poachers are seldom apprehended even though their family and neighbors know they are potting deer out of season. No one wants to speak up.
Does this make a poacher feel proud? It apparently must, because for them, outwitting the conservation officer is a big game they love to play. If they get caught, they pay their fine, and go right back to breaking fish and game laws again.
Apathy is running rampant as people shake their head and mutter: "Old Uncle Pete got himself another deer last night about midnight. Oh well, Pete’s a bit of an odd one!"
It makes one wonder why they don't turn Uncle Pete in. Ten or more days in the pokey might wake him up, but even that is doubtful. For most poachers, it is a game of beating the local game warden at their own game. Trespass is a major problem throughout the state, and most poachers trespass on a regular basis to do their dirty deeds.

DEVIANT MISQUE

Some poachers are ingenious in their willingness to test the game warden's skills. They go out of their way to concoct ways to mislead the officer so they can operate in impunity elsewhere.
Sooner or later, their worst nightmare comes true. The conservation officer steps out from behind a tree, and catches them red-handed with a freshly killed deer that was taken out of season or after dark.
Those who catch and keep more than their limit of fish are just as guilty as deer poachers. So too for those who put out 10 tip-ups during the winter, and when caught, shrug their shoulders, pay their fine and do something else that breaks our fish and game laws.
People dither, complain a bit, and soon everything blows over and they go back to the meat market in the woods. Family members, who could call and ask to remain anonymous, sit on their hands and wonder why nothing ever gets done. The answer is they are afraid to take that first step by making a phone call to the authorities.
Sad but true, there seems to be little improvement in the number of people arrested for breaking our wildlife laws. Conservation officers are spread too  thin, and in some counties, there is only one fish cop to cover too much ground. If he is patrolling the north end of the county, and things are happening at the south end, the chance of the violators being caught are very small.
Our sense of protecting our fish and game tells me that this is a matter of education. We must start with the school children, and teach them that what Uncle Pete does to make his weekly beer money is a crime against everyone else in the state.
Children must learn that shooting game out of season, setting a web (small gill net) across a spawning stream, jacklighting a deer at night, and all the other things that poachers do, is wrong.
In days of old, when knights were bold, poaching of the King's fish and deer in England, was a risky proposition that some poachers gladly accepted.
In some parts of Africa today, poachers are summarily dealt with. The law officers who try to protect the elephants and rhinos are both judge and jury, and the sentence is delivered immediately. A hail of bullets and a sudden death is what happens to many African poachers. Most don't have the guts to do that again.
A snide and very impersonal remark? I don't think so. Poaching is big business, and educating long-time fish and game thieves is a battle we seldom win. Caught, they are fined and may possibly serve a short prison sentence, and then return to poaching again.
Where is the justice in that? There isn't any.
Of course, in this country, using some of Africa's short and swift punishment would be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Poachers think little of our rights, but we must consider theirs when they are caught. A flaw exists in this argument.
Shooting poachers may be too harsh, but locking them up for a longer period of time and handing out much stiffer fines and restitution fees might make a difference.
It's my thought that we must deal with this problem in a different way, and teaching our children that poaching is wrong, is just the first step. If the kids start ragging on the old man whenever he takes game out of season, perhaps knowing that the kids are watching would do the trick.
It's certainly a good place to start.

Anyone who wants to help stop poaching can follow these tips:

• Don’t try to be a hero. Never try to stop a poacher.
• Instead, note the make, model and color to the car or truck being used. A license plate letters and numbers are very important.
• Note the number of people in the the vehicle and the direction it is traveling. Give them the time of the poaching incident.
• If possible, write down physical descriptions of all poachers, including height and weight, color of hair, approximate age, any distinguishing marks such as scars or tattoos, how the person is dressed, and who, if possible did the shooting.
• Making positive identification at night is very difficult, but if the individual is identifiable, give this information to a DNR officer. Get involved, and a tip can lead to an arrest. Most such anti-poaching lines allow callers to remain anonymous.
• Call the Michigan DNR Report All Poaching hotline phone number at (800) 292-7800 and offer them this information.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors