Today was about as windy as it can be and still what I would consider safe enough to stay out. On very windy days, the top branches of trees can just start snapping off and fall. Sometimes they are small, but some are big and will stick in the ground. Also, it has been so wet this year, the ground is soft and trees are still apt to just go over in a gust. So if it seems crazy windy, I'll stay out of the timber.
Besides the trees, hunting is tough on windy days. The deer are sketched right out and it very tough to hear anything. The wind hampers the deer's senses and they are spooked by the crashing branches, so they try to be ultra-alert to compensate. This makes getting close to them almost impossible; you have to let them come to you.
Red squirrels, right, back on topic. A couple days ago, I watched a gray squirrel foraging on the ground along the edge of the evergreen stand where my treestand is. Out of nowhere, a red charged him and began to chase him away. After a thirty yard chase, the red stopped and the gray kept moving. Just when the gray had resumed foraging, another red bolted out of another tree and chased the gray even further away.
The reds knew exactly where the ground that had acorns on it was and where it ended. Once the gray was pushed out of that area, they just went back to their trees and ignored him. By now, most of the acorns are out of the trees, so the battle is for the ground. Thing is, the grays actually do most of the work. I see them up in the high branches, shaking the acorns loose frequently, but I never see the reds up there doing any of the work.
But by far, I saw the the most violent attack a few weeks back. In the tree branches, about twenty feet off the ground I saw a red squirrel catch up with a gray and what happened next surprised me. The red pounced on the gray's back, wrapping him up and rolled out of the branches in a suicidal attempt to wrench the gray out of the tree. Once both squirrels were falling, the red released the gray and grabbed on to a branch a few feet below! The gray fell to the ground and ran off, shaken, but apparently uninjured.
So, these are my basis for the conclusion that red squirrels are bullies of the forest. I have yet to see anything to the contrary and while I am sure the predators are plenty aggressive, the reds are the most aggressive of the furry little critters.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Update to A Very Bad Day
Since that Tuesday night last week, I spent all Wednesday, Thursday afternoon, and ten hours in the woods on Friday looking for that deer. I picked up where I had lost the trail in the dark on Tuesday. I was hoping it was just me in the dark and I would find more blood, but there was no blood to find. I had been marking the trail and it was easy for me to pick up my last spot.
I used a clover leaf recon pattern to search from the spot, out, around and back, then out in a different direction, around and back again. Along the route I was hoping to cross more blood, or find the animal. I searched every ditch, stone wall, deep cover spot, and grassy area for that deer, no dice. I did not even find my arrow.
But on Friday, I wanted to move my treestand before I searched an area across the road from my usual patch of woods, so I started back near where I had shot on Tuesday. As I was setting my stand in a new spot, I saw three or four deer move past me in the oppostite direction I wanted to search. I thought that if the deer was not seriously injured, she would want to rejoin her herd and keep moving with them and so it would be worth checking to see if she was there.
I got out of the tree and slowly began to try to catch up with the deer. Catching up with a moving herd of deer is a counter-intuitive process. In your mind, you will think you have to rush and try to close the gap, but in reality, you have to go very slowly and keep glassing (using binoculars) to try to avoid bumping them. They blend in so well, it is easy to do, and most of the time that is what will happen anyway. But I try to move only a couple yards, then stop and glass. It takes a lot of patience to move this way, but the deer will stop and feed or freeze at a sound for a long time, so as long as I keep quiet and move in the right direction, I can usually get close at least once more.
I followed the deer along a ridge for forty-five minutes or so, and was able to stay quiet and undetected as far as I could tell. The silence was broken by a loud snort from my right and further up the ridge. I had nearly passed a big doe standing just up over the crest of the ridge in some scubby cover. I recognized her immediately and even the snort sounded exactly like the ones I had heard on Tuesday night. She stared at me for a second and I felt like she recognized me, then she bolted. I didn't see an arrow and she moved just fine.
This time of year, deer have elevated levels of clotting agent in their blood to help the heal fast due to the rut and the violence that can accompany the whole mating season. I still feel awful of course about not taking her right down, but now at least I know she survived and is back with the herd.
Deer don't usually snort at you. It is pretty unusual and I though that I bumped a buck in the dark on Tuesday night, but now that I look back and recognized the snort from the doe, I think that I actually bumped into her in the dark and she snorted at me. I could not see her, but I was wearing a headlamp and she probably could have seen me pretty well.
Well, at any rate, the hunt is back on. The herd walking around is up to five now, at least when I saw them this morning. Plus this week should be getting very close to the rut, if it's not on already, and the bucks should be out and running around too. I've got my other treestand set up too, so I have my choice of spots all ready to go depending on which trail the deer are using. I won't shoot at one that is 20 yards out anymore, 15 is my new max range. It's not that I can't stick an arrow where I want it at the further range, it's just that the deer has too much time to move and I can't have that, again.
I used a clover leaf recon pattern to search from the spot, out, around and back, then out in a different direction, around and back again. Along the route I was hoping to cross more blood, or find the animal. I searched every ditch, stone wall, deep cover spot, and grassy area for that deer, no dice. I did not even find my arrow.
But on Friday, I wanted to move my treestand before I searched an area across the road from my usual patch of woods, so I started back near where I had shot on Tuesday. As I was setting my stand in a new spot, I saw three or four deer move past me in the oppostite direction I wanted to search. I thought that if the deer was not seriously injured, she would want to rejoin her herd and keep moving with them and so it would be worth checking to see if she was there.
I got out of the tree and slowly began to try to catch up with the deer. Catching up with a moving herd of deer is a counter-intuitive process. In your mind, you will think you have to rush and try to close the gap, but in reality, you have to go very slowly and keep glassing (using binoculars) to try to avoid bumping them. They blend in so well, it is easy to do, and most of the time that is what will happen anyway. But I try to move only a couple yards, then stop and glass. It takes a lot of patience to move this way, but the deer will stop and feed or freeze at a sound for a long time, so as long as I keep quiet and move in the right direction, I can usually get close at least once more.
I followed the deer along a ridge for forty-five minutes or so, and was able to stay quiet and undetected as far as I could tell. The silence was broken by a loud snort from my right and further up the ridge. I had nearly passed a big doe standing just up over the crest of the ridge in some scubby cover. I recognized her immediately and even the snort sounded exactly like the ones I had heard on Tuesday night. She stared at me for a second and I felt like she recognized me, then she bolted. I didn't see an arrow and she moved just fine.
This time of year, deer have elevated levels of clotting agent in their blood to help the heal fast due to the rut and the violence that can accompany the whole mating season. I still feel awful of course about not taking her right down, but now at least I know she survived and is back with the herd.
Deer don't usually snort at you. It is pretty unusual and I though that I bumped a buck in the dark on Tuesday night, but now that I look back and recognized the snort from the doe, I think that I actually bumped into her in the dark and she snorted at me. I could not see her, but I was wearing a headlamp and she probably could have seen me pretty well.
Well, at any rate, the hunt is back on. The herd walking around is up to five now, at least when I saw them this morning. Plus this week should be getting very close to the rut, if it's not on already, and the bucks should be out and running around too. I've got my other treestand set up too, so I have my choice of spots all ready to go depending on which trail the deer are using. I won't shoot at one that is 20 yards out anymore, 15 is my new max range. It's not that I can't stick an arrow where I want it at the further range, it's just that the deer has too much time to move and I can't have that, again.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A Very Bad Day
Sometimes the toughest part of writing is being honest. I have not written in a while because I have been in the woods every spare minute of daylight this week, and I have not wanted to be honest. The story of why, is tough to tell and could be tough to read. Hunting is not always clean and easy, so if you are squeamish of such things, this is not the post for you to read. Skip it and read another.
Work continues to be slow and I had all of Tuesday to spend in the woods. I have come to believe that most early morning trips into the woods are wastes of time for a variety of reasons. First, entering the woods in the dark of morning is usually loud and difficult. It is also very cold and unpleasant, this makes the hunter get cold and by midmorning, most are ready to leave the woods to warm up. However, I have found that later in the morning is a prime time for deer moving and I have seen many this time of day. Entering the woods a little later means I can slowly move and watch for hours, covering ground and spend a good seven or eight hours without leaving the woods. But having said that, going in early every now and then is good because it is another piece of the puzzle and it will let you see the woods wake up, which is always neat.
Tuesday, I went in at about 10 am. I brought some climbing sticks with me to try out and replace my strap-on climbing steps with at my treestand. On the way in, I could hear something in the thicker woods near my stand, so I stopped, set down the climbing sticks, and dropped my pack. The sounds were just across a clearing and I waited for about a half hour on the near side, watching and listening. I knew I should have tried to move closer to the edge of the clearing, but I though the deer would pop out any minute, so I froze and waited. Sure enough, a doe came out and stepped to the edge of the clearing, but she saw me, and stopped. I had time to shoot, but she was facing me almost direct and about 25 yards away. Too risky of a shot for me to take, so I held off and she turned and bounded off. No problem, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was wound her.
I got to my stand and put up the new climbing sticks. They went together easily, were solid and very easy to climb. Satisfied with my stand, I went for a little walk around, then decided to go on stand at about 2 pm, and settle in.
Three big porcupines sat up in the trees nearby and time passed quickly as I alternated between watching them feed and looking for deer. Around 5 pm I heard steps and watched. Four deer came in from my right and moved across to my left, getting closer. There were three does of average size (100 lb. or so) and one in the lead that was head and shoulders above the others, probably 150 lbs. or so. That was the one I wanted. I watched them come in, unaware of my presence.
I was standing, and I had about a 22 yd. shot, down and to my left through an open lane. The big doe stepped into the space and I had a perfect broadside shot. I drew, aimed behind the shoulder and shot. What happened next is blurry and happened so fast, it is difficult to describe. The deer moved before my arrow even reached its mark. I thought I might have missed, everything moved so fast, I just couldn’t tell. The big deer bolted in the direction it was headed and the other three broke toward the direction they had come from.
At first I just waited, watching and mentally marking the spot where the deer was standing, and marking the spot where it ran off to. I untied my harness and climbed down. First, I wanted to find my arrow, if it was still there. I looked for 45 minutes and couldn’t find anything. No arrow, no blood, nothing. I went to the last place I saw the deer, then tracked it for about a hundred more yards, still not sure if I hit it, then I saw some blood and knew I had. By now it was nearly dark and I switched on my headlamp to start trailing.
The trail was pretty light and I had to move slowly, looking for drops, smears, anything I could find. I carefully marked sign with a forked stick and another stick resting in it, showing direction of travel and keeping me from tracking in a circle over the same sign. I tracked in the dark, the blood trail was light to begin with and it got lighter and lighter, until I couldn’t find anything to follow.
By now it was almost 9 pm and I was a good distance from the original shooting location. I tried to find more trail, but I was in an area where lots of deer were bedding or passing through and there were multiple trails in many directions. Then, I bumped the buck. He sounded big, but everything sounds bigger in the dark. I could hear him move away from me, maybe 10 yards, then stop. I knew it was a buck because it didn’t just take off; it stood its ground and began to snort at me. It was at this point that I decided to get out of the woods for the night.
If you feel bad about reading this, about what happened, trust me, I feel ten times worse. Wounding an animal is every hunter’s nightmare and I have not been able to get over this. I practice and practice and have passed up at least six other chances to shoot so far this year, specifically to avoid this situation. I have spent every spare hour of daylight in the woods looking for this deer and I will spend at least 10-11 hours out there tomorrow. It is all I can do. I want to find that deer more than anything right now and I will do everything I can to. This story isn’t over, yet.
Work continues to be slow and I had all of Tuesday to spend in the woods. I have come to believe that most early morning trips into the woods are wastes of time for a variety of reasons. First, entering the woods in the dark of morning is usually loud and difficult. It is also very cold and unpleasant, this makes the hunter get cold and by midmorning, most are ready to leave the woods to warm up. However, I have found that later in the morning is a prime time for deer moving and I have seen many this time of day. Entering the woods a little later means I can slowly move and watch for hours, covering ground and spend a good seven or eight hours without leaving the woods. But having said that, going in early every now and then is good because it is another piece of the puzzle and it will let you see the woods wake up, which is always neat.
Tuesday, I went in at about 10 am. I brought some climbing sticks with me to try out and replace my strap-on climbing steps with at my treestand. On the way in, I could hear something in the thicker woods near my stand, so I stopped, set down the climbing sticks, and dropped my pack. The sounds were just across a clearing and I waited for about a half hour on the near side, watching and listening. I knew I should have tried to move closer to the edge of the clearing, but I though the deer would pop out any minute, so I froze and waited. Sure enough, a doe came out and stepped to the edge of the clearing, but she saw me, and stopped. I had time to shoot, but she was facing me almost direct and about 25 yards away. Too risky of a shot for me to take, so I held off and she turned and bounded off. No problem, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was wound her.
I got to my stand and put up the new climbing sticks. They went together easily, were solid and very easy to climb. Satisfied with my stand, I went for a little walk around, then decided to go on stand at about 2 pm, and settle in.
Three big porcupines sat up in the trees nearby and time passed quickly as I alternated between watching them feed and looking for deer. Around 5 pm I heard steps and watched. Four deer came in from my right and moved across to my left, getting closer. There were three does of average size (100 lb. or so) and one in the lead that was head and shoulders above the others, probably 150 lbs. or so. That was the one I wanted. I watched them come in, unaware of my presence.
I was standing, and I had about a 22 yd. shot, down and to my left through an open lane. The big doe stepped into the space and I had a perfect broadside shot. I drew, aimed behind the shoulder and shot. What happened next is blurry and happened so fast, it is difficult to describe. The deer moved before my arrow even reached its mark. I thought I might have missed, everything moved so fast, I just couldn’t tell. The big deer bolted in the direction it was headed and the other three broke toward the direction they had come from.
At first I just waited, watching and mentally marking the spot where the deer was standing, and marking the spot where it ran off to. I untied my harness and climbed down. First, I wanted to find my arrow, if it was still there. I looked for 45 minutes and couldn’t find anything. No arrow, no blood, nothing. I went to the last place I saw the deer, then tracked it for about a hundred more yards, still not sure if I hit it, then I saw some blood and knew I had. By now it was nearly dark and I switched on my headlamp to start trailing.
The trail was pretty light and I had to move slowly, looking for drops, smears, anything I could find. I carefully marked sign with a forked stick and another stick resting in it, showing direction of travel and keeping me from tracking in a circle over the same sign. I tracked in the dark, the blood trail was light to begin with and it got lighter and lighter, until I couldn’t find anything to follow.
By now it was almost 9 pm and I was a good distance from the original shooting location. I tried to find more trail, but I was in an area where lots of deer were bedding or passing through and there were multiple trails in many directions. Then, I bumped the buck. He sounded big, but everything sounds bigger in the dark. I could hear him move away from me, maybe 10 yards, then stop. I knew it was a buck because it didn’t just take off; it stood its ground and began to snort at me. It was at this point that I decided to get out of the woods for the night.
If you feel bad about reading this, about what happened, trust me, I feel ten times worse. Wounding an animal is every hunter’s nightmare and I have not been able to get over this. I practice and practice and have passed up at least six other chances to shoot so far this year, specifically to avoid this situation. I have spent every spare hour of daylight in the woods looking for this deer and I will spend at least 10-11 hours out there tomorrow. It is all I can do. I want to find that deer more than anything right now and I will do everything I can to. This story isn’t over, yet.
Monday, October 19, 2009
When Owls Attack!
The deer have split up. Up to this point I have spotted them in groups of 2-4 at a time, but tonight I came across two deer on their own and in different areas. The first one I bumped when I was not even far enough in the woods to shoot. I did not get a good look at it, but it sounded pretty good-sized (on a day when the leaves were wet)and bounded away from me.
I reached my treestand and paused to take a look around. To get up there, I have to put three strap-on tree steps on the trunk, then put my harness on and set my bow up with a string so I can pull it up. It doesn't actually take all that long, but it is movement and it does take a couple minutes, so I try to take a good long look and make sure the coast is clear.
It was not.
A deer somehow heard my approach and gently bounded away, not too quickly though, so I believed she would be back. I was tempted to skip my harness and just climb the tree and wait, but I decided that this was no excuse to forgo my safety routine.
Proceeding on, I got geared up, climbed up and tied off. The porcupine was home in the oak tree and I watched him change limbs, climbing higher to soak up as much sunlight as possible.
After twenty minutes of porcupine watching, the same doe came back. She was a good size and I watched her come toward me and then turn, about thirty-five yards away, too far for a shot with my recurve. I just watched her and hoped she would wander toward me, but she did not. She moved off and I just watched and hoped she would come back around or something else would bump her back toward me.
In the meantime, out of nowhere, an owl swooped in low from behind me and attacked a red squirrel! It sent the squirrel flying and the little red screeched and yelped as it darted away from the owl's talons. The owl swooped around and tried to get the squirrel from another angle, but this squirrel was not going down easy and it out-maneuvered the owl and shot up a tree. The owl was silent and from a distance, quite precise, but in the confines of the forest tangle, the red squirrel got away fairly easily.
The owl gave up and landed on the stone wall below my stand. All this went on right in front of me and the owl had not noticed me. I silently looked down at the owl and admired its intricate black and gray feather patterns. Then in the spirit of Halloween, the owl suddenly turned its head all the way around and upside down, staring right at me! It was like it felt me looking at it. I realized that being positioned above the bird may make it feel threatened and I believe that owl was trying to decide whether or not to have at me next! After all, I was tied to a tree and would probably make much easier quarry.
The owl opted not to attack me. Instead it elected to fly away with a horrible screech that sounded much more like a hound dog snarl. I have never heard a sound like that from a bird and I never would have expected it from an owl. It startled me and made me jump a little.
Eventually, another deer came near me, but it was getting very dark and I could not see to shoot. But the deer hung out so close by that I waited in my stand for an extra fifteen minutes before I sneaked out of the woods.
It was a good trip. My treestand is in a good place with the deer wandering by from almost any given direction. It's only a matter of time until one walks into one of my shooting lanes.
I reached my treestand and paused to take a look around. To get up there, I have to put three strap-on tree steps on the trunk, then put my harness on and set my bow up with a string so I can pull it up. It doesn't actually take all that long, but it is movement and it does take a couple minutes, so I try to take a good long look and make sure the coast is clear.
It was not.
A deer somehow heard my approach and gently bounded away, not too quickly though, so I believed she would be back. I was tempted to skip my harness and just climb the tree and wait, but I decided that this was no excuse to forgo my safety routine.
Proceeding on, I got geared up, climbed up and tied off. The porcupine was home in the oak tree and I watched him change limbs, climbing higher to soak up as much sunlight as possible.
After twenty minutes of porcupine watching, the same doe came back. She was a good size and I watched her come toward me and then turn, about thirty-five yards away, too far for a shot with my recurve. I just watched her and hoped she would wander toward me, but she did not. She moved off and I just watched and hoped she would come back around or something else would bump her back toward me.
In the meantime, out of nowhere, an owl swooped in low from behind me and attacked a red squirrel! It sent the squirrel flying and the little red screeched and yelped as it darted away from the owl's talons. The owl swooped around and tried to get the squirrel from another angle, but this squirrel was not going down easy and it out-maneuvered the owl and shot up a tree. The owl was silent and from a distance, quite precise, but in the confines of the forest tangle, the red squirrel got away fairly easily.
The owl gave up and landed on the stone wall below my stand. All this went on right in front of me and the owl had not noticed me. I silently looked down at the owl and admired its intricate black and gray feather patterns. Then in the spirit of Halloween, the owl suddenly turned its head all the way around and upside down, staring right at me! It was like it felt me looking at it. I realized that being positioned above the bird may make it feel threatened and I believe that owl was trying to decide whether or not to have at me next! After all, I was tied to a tree and would probably make much easier quarry.
The owl opted not to attack me. Instead it elected to fly away with a horrible screech that sounded much more like a hound dog snarl. I have never heard a sound like that from a bird and I never would have expected it from an owl. It startled me and made me jump a little.
Eventually, another deer came near me, but it was getting very dark and I could not see to shoot. But the deer hung out so close by that I waited in my stand for an extra fifteen minutes before I sneaked out of the woods.
It was a good trip. My treestand is in a good place with the deer wandering by from almost any given direction. It's only a matter of time until one walks into one of my shooting lanes.
Canal Fishing
I managed to find a couple hours to fish this morning down here on Cape Cod. Amber is at the spa for her birthday. It is overcast and the wind is whipping something fierce down the canal. But a chance to fish, is a chance to fish, and that is no chance I ever pass up.
I started out with my surfcasting equipment, but the current just ripped my lure down current and it didn’t seem like this was going to be very effective. So I pulled my line and went back to the car. I needed one more layer and some gloves. As it so happened, Amber had a nice pair of neoprene flip-top gloves in the car and those worked perfectly.
There is a spot along the canal where the intake and discharge for the power plant protrude into the canal a bit. I have had success here in the past. This little bit of structure is a good spot for fish to get out of the current and schools of baitfish duck in here for cover too. Amber, Zak and I all caught some stripers here a couple years ago. It was worth a try, so I grabbed my heavy fly rod and set up.
The wind is never as strong close to the water/ground, so even though is feel like 30 mph winds at my head level, if I cast sidearm and keep my line low, it cuts under the wind and it’s not impossible to get a line out. Even though there were no fish around, it was good practice to work around the wind and cold. You never know when you may need to make a big cast in those conditions and the experience counts.
I started out with my surfcasting equipment, but the current just ripped my lure down current and it didn’t seem like this was going to be very effective. So I pulled my line and went back to the car. I needed one more layer and some gloves. As it so happened, Amber had a nice pair of neoprene flip-top gloves in the car and those worked perfectly.
There is a spot along the canal where the intake and discharge for the power plant protrude into the canal a bit. I have had success here in the past. This little bit of structure is a good spot for fish to get out of the current and schools of baitfish duck in here for cover too. Amber, Zak and I all caught some stripers here a couple years ago. It was worth a try, so I grabbed my heavy fly rod and set up.
The wind is never as strong close to the water/ground, so even though is feel like 30 mph winds at my head level, if I cast sidearm and keep my line low, it cuts under the wind and it’s not impossible to get a line out. Even though there were no fish around, it was good practice to work around the wind and cold. You never know when you may need to make a big cast in those conditions and the experience counts.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Coyotes!
Sunset was at 6:03 pm tonight and that did not leave me much time to work with when I got in the woods at 4:30 pm. The wind was dead calm and the woods were quiet except for critters rustling leaves on the ground. Every squirrel sounds like a deer step and it takes a long time to move quietly throught the woods and sort out each noise, one by one. That is the only way to make sure I don't just think something was a squirrel and miss a deer!
I got set up in my stand by 5:30 pm and it was quickly getting dark. The porcupine in the nearby oak tree just sat and slept, balled up, high in the limbs. He was in a different spot than the other day when I saw him, but equally content. It waited for a few minutes and heard a noise behind me. Deer came in from the same direction I had used to get to the stand. They were shielded by a canopy of low growth beech trees. They came up the hill to my right and crossed a stone wall. I don't think they saw me, but they did not come into one of my shooting lanes.
As they crossed the wall, they passed a basketball-sized window in the branches that I may have been able to shoot through, but the deer didn't hesitate and I was not comfortable taking that shot on a moving target. So they walked past me, and off along the hillside. I used a doe bleat call to try to get them to come back around. I thought I heard their steps come back in my direction. but they didn't come close enough to see.
I discovered two interesting things by spending those two hours in the woods today. First, the deer were moving in a direction I have not observed them moving in yet this fall. They have been circling the woods clockwise every time I have seen them, but this time they were moving counterclockwise. Secondly, the deer were passing through a day earlier than I expected to see them. These things mean the deer are changing their patterns and perhaps the rut is starting.
Finally, as I was untying my harness to climb down from my treestand, I heard something I have not heard in these woods yet, coyote yips and howls. They were not too far from where I am set up, but they are now in the area and I wonder if they may have been what has bumped the deer off their previous pattern. Could be, perhaps I will see them soon. It was cool hiking out of the woods in the dark with the coyotes howling in the distance.
I got set up in my stand by 5:30 pm and it was quickly getting dark. The porcupine in the nearby oak tree just sat and slept, balled up, high in the limbs. He was in a different spot than the other day when I saw him, but equally content. It waited for a few minutes and heard a noise behind me. Deer came in from the same direction I had used to get to the stand. They were shielded by a canopy of low growth beech trees. They came up the hill to my right and crossed a stone wall. I don't think they saw me, but they did not come into one of my shooting lanes.
As they crossed the wall, they passed a basketball-sized window in the branches that I may have been able to shoot through, but the deer didn't hesitate and I was not comfortable taking that shot on a moving target. So they walked past me, and off along the hillside. I used a doe bleat call to try to get them to come back around. I thought I heard their steps come back in my direction. but they didn't come close enough to see.
I discovered two interesting things by spending those two hours in the woods today. First, the deer were moving in a direction I have not observed them moving in yet this fall. They have been circling the woods clockwise every time I have seen them, but this time they were moving counterclockwise. Secondly, the deer were passing through a day earlier than I expected to see them. These things mean the deer are changing their patterns and perhaps the rut is starting.
Finally, as I was untying my harness to climb down from my treestand, I heard something I have not heard in these woods yet, coyote yips and howls. They were not too far from where I am set up, but they are now in the area and I wonder if they may have been what has bumped the deer off their previous pattern. Could be, perhaps I will see them soon. It was cool hiking out of the woods in the dark with the coyotes howling in the distance.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Missed a day...
When a day comes along and I know I should have made it in the woods, but I don't for one reason or another, I can't help but feel a little disappointed. This was one of those days. The days are getting shorter by minutes a day now and the dreaded daylight wasting time is just ahead. If I tarry at work for a bit too long, the afternoon hunt is a loss.
But despite today's lost opportunity, I was thinking back to my last fishing trip and an unusual occurrence. I fish a local pond frequently, year-round, and enjoy a fair amount of success there. I know where to find the bass, which parts of the pond the pickerel favor, and the locations of the submerged boulders the black crappie lurk around. I have fished this water for about three and a half years now.
Over my last couple trips there I have began to catch fish I have never seen there before. The above pictured fish (Image Credit: Wikipedia) is a Golden Shiner and very popular bait with those who like to fish for largemouth bass with live bait. I was catching these fish anywhere from 5"-8" in length with my fly rod using a variety of sinking flies. I was trying to catch crappie or even a bass, but these fish were striking regularly and eagerly.
Question: How can I suddenly and easily be catching a type of fish that I have never seen here previously using methods I use frequently in areas I fish regularly?
Answer: The fish weren't there before. Before what? Before someone started using them for bait and they started escaping into the ecosystem, or before someone stocked them as feed for the bass to hopefully increase their size. Golden Shiners are allowed to be used for bait under NH Fish and Game guidelines, but I wonder how it will affect the pond if there are suddenly a lot of these shiners multiplying and jumping into the food chain.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Deer Season 2009
This year I have had more time than usual to put into hunting. Every season I load up on tags for archery, muzzleloader, regular firearm, and usually a duck stamp too. But most every year things find a way to creep into my schedule and I never get out quite as much as I ought to.
The economy is slow and work has been equally slow, giving me a few more free days in the woods. I have tried to take advantage of these and spend as many hours afield as I can. I have seen many deer, turkeys, porcupines, and hundreds of squirrels. Doesn't anything eat squirrels anymore?
I have been carrying my 1953 Fred Bear recurve bow set up with a Skookum two-arrow stalking quiver from Alaska Bowhunting Supply. I am using Cabela's Stalker Extreme Carbon arrows with 100-grain Magnus broadheads. The arrows are extremely durable and shoot great, I am very pleased with them and would love to get one in a deer soon!
This last week I have been going in the woods very light gear-wise. Walking is too strong a word, stepping is more appropriate for my pace. Moving painfully slow and staying balanced keeps me quiet. Until a squirrel runs into me and sounds the alarm. But that works both ways. I have heard the squirrels bark at deer that I could not see and that sound let me know the deer were there.
To a squirrel, a deer or a hunter are equally huge and alarming I suppose.
The economy is slow and work has been equally slow, giving me a few more free days in the woods. I have tried to take advantage of these and spend as many hours afield as I can. I have seen many deer, turkeys, porcupines, and hundreds of squirrels. Doesn't anything eat squirrels anymore?
I have been carrying my 1953 Fred Bear recurve bow set up with a Skookum two-arrow stalking quiver from Alaska Bowhunting Supply. I am using Cabela's Stalker Extreme Carbon arrows with 100-grain Magnus broadheads. The arrows are extremely durable and shoot great, I am very pleased with them and would love to get one in a deer soon!
This last week I have been going in the woods very light gear-wise. Walking is too strong a word, stepping is more appropriate for my pace. Moving painfully slow and staying balanced keeps me quiet. Until a squirrel runs into me and sounds the alarm. But that works both ways. I have heard the squirrels bark at deer that I could not see and that sound let me know the deer were there.
To a squirrel, a deer or a hunter are equally huge and alarming I suppose.
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