FIrst Ice

It had been a long summer and fall, and I finally got the chance to get the snowmobiles out.  I took my father in law onto Wekusko, and we were walleye hungry.  We just hoped the fish were as hungry as we were.  

  We got to our spot, and drilled holes.  8" of ice.  I went straight to my best gps spot for that area, and expected action right from the get go.  We had been there a while, and not much to report.  I thought about moving, and actually got up to get the auger.  I looked at the vexilar when I made my first step to go, and a fish was on the bait.  I grabbed the rod, jiggled, and wham - 20" walleye.  Finally.  That fish felt so good- been too long.  

  We fished from 11 am to 2pm and ended up landing 8 walleye, 2 perch, 1 whitefish, and 1 tulibee.  My biggest fish for the outing was a 26" walleye.  I am sure that won't be the biggest for the year!

My Coldest…..

While I was in Saskatchewan waiting for the baby to come, I had the chance to fulfill one of my goals.  I planned this year to take my nephew Avery on his first waterfowl field hunt.  I had heard rumours of all the snow southern sask got, so I threw in the calls just in case, but left my shotgun and extras at home. 

 Driving out there, I realized I may have made a mistake, as there was no snow once we reached Yorkton.  Great…..  But all the small lakes and sloughs were locked up, and I wasn't sure what birds would be left.  

  Avery and I set out to bait for some deer, and I noticed a huge flock of geese with ducks mixed in.  We were in hot pursuit, thinking they will be feeding nearby.  40 miles later and the birds still high, it wasn't looking good.  We did a huge loop, and ended up near the Melville dam.  And there were the only birds around.  Canada geese had 2 big holes kept open on the dam, and there were birds in the air.  We took chase and found they were feeding in a corn field.  Things were looking up!

  I made some phone calls, and got my blinds sent up.  We would meet a good friend and client Corey in a couple of evenings to scout out the field prior to the hunt, and he would bring his decoys.  We met up with him on the field approach on the evening of Nov 10th, and there were ALOT of geese.  It was looking promising.

  The next morning we woke up to -26 C (-15F), and this was before windchill kicked in.  It was cold cold.  Avery and I got somewhat dressed, and headed out.  We stopped at Robins Donuts and got some donuts and coffee.  As we got close to the field, I saw geese.  Are you kidding me?  How did they bear us, they shouldn't have left the roost till at least 11.  As I drove closer I noticed the geese were not moving….decoys…and not ours.  Two other hunters also got permission to hunt the field.  I chatted with them quick, and offered them to hunt with us.  They weren't to excited to move in this cold, but we they were not set up where the geese fed the evening before.  I assured them this would be a good move, and they got their trucks and started to load up.  

  We figured out where we'd set, and I thought I'd be warm enough getting the set ready.  I was wrong, I was freezing.  All my snowmobile gear got pulled out, as it was a necessity.  We got ready, got the trucks parked, and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Time to eat some donuts….and they were frozen.   And we waited some more.  Finally- we spotted a small flock.  They came right in to our J hook perfectly, and we let them have it.  And Avery shot his first goose!  Soon another flock came in, and again, Avery shot another one!  He was giving it to them!  

  It took most of the day, but it did warm up some.  And we did end up getting our limit.  Avery shot VERY WELL, and even shot his first double.  I also gave him some pressure shots with him being the only shooter when singles came in, and he never let them get away! 

  This hunt was loaded with firsts.  Avery's first waterfowl hunt, my first hunt with Corey, my coldest waterfowl hunt ever, first time I had calls freeze up during a sequence, and my first corn field hunt.  And I am sure it will be one of the "firsts" when I think about waterfowl hunting for many years to come!  The only thing I would have changed is to have had my lab Maggie with me because I was tired with all those retrieves!!!

5 hunters, 40 Canada Geese, and Smiles All Round!

New Baby

During November, Elissa, Kiley, and I headed to Saskatchewan to have another huge change in our lives.   We had a baby girl and baby Kolbey was born.  It looks like we will be putting another pink rod in the rod holder!

Fall Bear Hunting

This year I had 7 fall bear hunters, and they were combo's with wolf.  This would be the final test on how wolf hunting goes, as well as fall bear.  

  The wolf hunting was a success, but I found out it takes a lot more money and time than I thought.  I started to bait in June, every couple of weeks at each bait.  In august I picked the pace up, and wolves definitely knew where the baits were.  The baits were being crushed and in the first 5 minutes of dropping the first hunters off, I got the call that one of them shot a wolf.  I called B.S., but sure enough a wolf was shot.   After that though, the wolves were nocturnal.  They would eat all the bait during the night, including whole bear carcasses.  I did however have a client draw 3 times on 2 wolves in one of the bear stands, and these wolves even ate his first bear that he shot!  The wolves are a problem up here, FOR SURE.

  As for bears, there was lots of action, but it seemed that our numbers are down.  We killed mostly sows with no cubs, and that seemed to be what was at majority of the baits, and in high numbers.  My concern of winterkill was verified, and thus I have dropped out tags back for the next few years.  I want to make sure that quality hunts are sustainable, even though it hurts the pocket book.  We are sold out for next year with 18 tags I have decided to sell.

  Color was super evident again this fall, with many chocolates shot and seen.  I am not sure why color is on the rise, but I am looking forward to what we see next spring.  

  The berry crop was decent this year, and all the bears had good fat reserves, so we should be good for next year.  

  I also have approached manitoba resources, and I have expanded our territory, so we are getting into some new areas that look AWESOME.  I am hoping that we get some real crankers next year!

Open Water Fishing 2013

Well this year was heaven for big fish.  This was a higher number of big Pike than normal, and another banner year for big Walleye.  Even some big Lakers were found.  All in all it turned out to be a banner fishing year.

  First of all- The Pike.  As ice came off real late, the big pike were very sluggish off the hop.  As I had only 2 bear hunters the first week of fishing, I took them fishing a few times and we gave our hand at sight fishing.  We found a lot of big fish (one morning I spotted 20 fish over 38").  But we hooked up on only 2!  They just wouldn't move, and were definitely just finished spawning.  I did manage to sight a couple of TANKS, including one I figured would hit 48".  Saw her in 12 feet of water, sitting only a few inches off the surface.  Once we pushed her, she was never seen again.  Throughout the year, big fish were reported from one side of the lake to the other, and the largest landed was 46".  August was actually the biggest pike month, and many were caught in the first lake!  But one thing is a common trend most of the time- the bigger the bait- the bigger the Pike.

  Walleye was fantastic in June and July like usual.  I decided to try some different tactics when I guided bear hunters on the water in May, to see if I could actually find some big girls early.  I have never heard of any big early fish on Tramping, but tides changed this spring.  I was pitching jigs into 10' or less in the back of bays, and started to connect on big fish.  I caught a few 28's and a 29.   Fishing was no means hot, but it was still nice to see that it can be done.  And of course once we got into June, the fishing turned HOT.  My official Mater Angler Walleye count was 285 on the dot, and this is just fishermen in camp!  As Jack is no longer to make it up, I am sure we would have cleared 300 easily if we had his number to add to the tally.  We never had any monsters landed this year, but we had three 32" landed.  They still are a true hog, but not the 33s or 34s or higher that we get accustomed to here. (And for those out of province or state readers- this is NO TAIL PINCHED).  On the opposite side of early walleye, we also still landed a few masters in mid August.  Big Walleye go deep on this lake, but we managed to find a few in 28'.  If I had more time, I might actually figure these fish out.

   But what happened to the HUGE walleye?  They are still in the lake!  First few days of fishing season saw ice across the big lake.  The fish were just post spawned, and I took bear hunters out to sight fish big pike and set out the buoys.  As I dropped the last river buoy we trolled out to the lake mouth, to see if there were any big pike sitting on the sand.  I spotted a 34ish" pike and two little guys chasing this female all over.  Something didn't look right, and as we drew closer, these were Walleye.  The big girl shot into the shadow of the boat to get a rest from the 2 little males causing havoc.  We just floated amazed at the size of her, and knew we didn't haven't a chance of catching her.  So we headed to the big lake, and the ice was off!  We fished one of my favorite bays for early big pike, and saw some but few takers.  As we continued on in the bay I had my fly rod in hand and saw a 36"ish pike.  Receiving the go ahead from the guests as it's not too big, I laid the cast.  The fish was laying in 2' of water tight to some reeds and it broke out following the clouser fly, semi interested, but wouldn't flare and suck it in.  As it got close to the boat, and me not being worried as it's not a huge fish, the guests said it's a laker, not a pike.  Since it came directly at me the whole time, it just looked like a dark line.  But then it spooked and turned and flared- Walleye!  And absolute monster monster, and it shot back into real shallow tangle of reeds.  We lost sight of the fish and never saw it again.  If it only took that fly!  
   July had some campgrounders rent our 2 canoes.  As they were suppose to be back by 4 and it was now 7, Elissa sent me out on a recon mission.  As I approached the lake mouth there they were, so instead of me waking them twice, I figured I'd fish a hump in the first lake while I waited for the canoers to continue on.  I had one rod rigged with a bottom bouncer and snell left in the boat, and found a couple of leeches that were free swimming in the livewell.  It took me 10 minutes and I hooked into a 21" walleye.  As I brought it up the was a dark shadow slowly submarining up below the thrashing walleye.  Why isn't that pike attacking it?  Well, it slowly turned, staying about 6' down, and I saw the white clip on the tail, it was a GIANT walleye.  I made Elissa ticked as I stayed out till dark making that same pass again and again, even though it was not likely I would hook up on that fish.  I just wished I has some twitch baits or swim baits on board, as I may have had a chance then- just maybe.  So the BIG BIG girls are still in the lake, just have to have to be at the right place at the right time!

Here is a picture of a client I guided with his personal best - 32" caught in the rain!

Spring Bear Hunt 2013

What a spring, and what a lot of work.  We ran a total of 16 hunts this spring.  We opened a lot of new territory that had either never been baited, or it had been several years since last hunted.  Some baits were hot, and some the bears took their time finding.  But all in all it was a successful season.

  I expected with a poor berry crop and long winter, that the bears were going to be thin.  And thin they were.   There was no fat on any of the bears.  It seemed it took the bears a while to really get active on the baits, but once they started it got real active. 

  I was also concerned about potential winter kill.  I am currently monitoring the situation, talking to our wildlife technicians, and am still not completely sure the extent of damage to our bear population.  With how little fat the bears had, and how light they weighed (5 1/2' bears were averaging a 150 lbs!), there was undoubtedly some kill off.  We have however seen MANY sows with cubs, so the extent of any winterkill could not have been severe.  We will continue to monitor the population this year, and I may cut the number of hunts we run here for a few years in order to ensure a harvestable number of QUALITY BEARS.  

  If any hunter asks me about our % of color bear phase, I have always said 17-18%.  This year I was made a liar.  I have no idea where all these color bears came from, but they were thick.  We did not see all the color bears- but their hair was prevalent.  Brand new baits were having blond and chocolate hair on it, so we know that this is not old hair that we missed.  This year we were more around 25%+ (I still want to be conservative).  Every year is different in life, and the same for bear hunting I guess.

  Stats for the Spring

- ALL hunters shot a bear!!!

- Largest was only 330 lbs (everything weighed out VERY LIGHT)

- Average length was 5' 3" 

- Largest skull should be 21" and change (waiting for the drying period to finish)

- 3 rusty chocolate bears killed

- 3 black bears with V - patches killed

- 1 crossbow, 4 archery, 1 muzzleloader, 2 shotgun, 8 rifle

Here is some pictures of some beauties!

Ice Fishing

Since I am more than LATE with the blog.....been an interesting year with the most bear hunters I have run, and 1 year old, and busier camp.  But at any rate.... I will make the pictures proof of what April was like!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!