Ice Fishing Season 2

Well finally Mr Winter has come and decided to freeze the local lakes so that ice fishermen can get out. I am very excited to start my second season of ice fishing. I know that sounds strange that I am only in my second season of ice fishing. It is true though, I never had the time try ice fishing until last year. I was always playing hockey during the winter months and only had time to fish in the summer with my grandpa. Last year was not the best year for me in the ice fishing department. It is different to walk out on the ice and try to figure out the hot spot without having a depth finder or the knowledge of where the spots are. In the winter the fish are not where they are during open water fishing. I never really knew that . So this year I hoping to figure out the patterns of the fish during the winter months so that I can make this year a successful one. Alot of people have told me that I need to get a flasher, which is a form of a depth finder that helps to locate the fish. So I am saving up to get my first flasher this year. I know that the fishing is alot better up here than in the St. Cloud area so I am hoping that once finals are over with I can get out on the ice and catch some fish and make some more memories in the great outdoors.

A big fat goose egg for my deer count

This deer season did not go so well. The season started out slow and ended with a miss of a big buck on the final day of the firearms season. My final day was an exciting end to the season. The day started out later than I wanted it to. I arrived at my spot just as the sun was rising which all deer hunters know is not the best timing. So I arrived and loaded my gun and set off to the spot I had chose to the day before. I had seen a lot of tracks and knew that I was on a good trail eventhough I did not see anything the previous two days I thought I would try it again. So I settled into my spot and got out my grunt call and gave it two grunts. Not even two minutes later I heard this rustling behind me and looked back to see a big buck coming my way. As soon as I seen the buck coming my way my adrenaline began to rush and I could barely stay calm enough to shoulder my gun. The big buck which was a mature eight pointer stayed on a trail right behind me and in fear of seeing the deer move out of shooting range I made a big mistake. Instead of grunting at the buck again and waiting for him to come my way I took a shot hoping not to hit any branches. I took the first shot and missed and took two more shots hoping to slow him down but no luck. The buck took off. I was so disappointed with myself for making that choice. Much to my surprise the buck had circled back and was in woods just across the path he had come down before. I got up to see if I could get another shot off at him. Once I got up he took of but I grunted and got him to come back but he just wouldnt come close enough me to get a clear shot. I sat there waiting and waiting for him to come in closer but he never did. He then came into a small clearing where I could see his neck and a part of his shoulder I decided to try to take a shot. I ended up missing I am pretty sure it probably hit a branch. The big buck took off and minutes later I heard shots in the direction he ran. My guess is another hunter got him. What an exciting but frusturating hunt. I was hoping to get my first northern Minnesota buck. Oh well maybe next year.

The First Week of Deer Season

Well my first week of the new deer season started out last Saturday morning about 5 am. I woke up and got my brother and my dad going so we could get out to our first spot of the day. This was the first year that my brother decided to come hunting with us, so that was pretty cool for my dad. We started out going to some state land which of course was packed with hunters already. We decided to go to the far end and walk some grass but we came up empty. After hunting the state land for a couple of hours we headed to the gas station for some breakfest and snacks. We then headed on a road trip towards our grandparents farm. my dad dropped my brother and I off at the start of the dredge ditch and headed to the fence line to post and wait to see what we chase out. I went along the outside in the open field and let my brother walk through the thick of the ditch. My brother got about 20 yards into the ditch and ended up chasing out a big doe which of course we could not shoot at because we had a buck permit. So after running and checking my bincoulars to see if it had horns at all I had to pass and hope that a buck would scramble out of the ditch. My brother was walking along and all of the sudden we heard him yelling and running so I ran in after him to find out that he was being chased by a beaver. It was pretty funny because he cannot carry a gun since he didnt complete his gun safety yet so he had to run from it. I thought it was pretty funny but he didnt think so. So after running from beaver like a little girl my brother and I finished walking the ditch and looked out to see four does running out of the side of the ditch, no buck though. So after no luck there we headed out to some state land about 45 minutes away where our luck for a buck would change. So we arrived at the state land and started walking the thick weeds in hope of seeing a buck. My dad was walking the inside and of course we made my brother walk right through the middle of the thicker weeds and brush. Right next to my dad was a swamp so if a deer did come out we were hoping to have it run out my side towards me. So we walked and all of the sudden my dad seen a buck get up and a lay down about 10 feet ahead of us. After we had seen this the adrenaline began to rush knowing that maybe this was our chance at a buck. We continued walking in hopes of chasing the buck out and then all of the sudden the buck got up and headed towards my dad who shot 3 times and missing the buck who then headed into the swamp. My dad had his chance at a buck and missed and there was no way we could go in after the buck either so we had to let it go. So we continued on giving my dad crap for missing the buck. We then headed home for the nite. We got up the next day and headed out early to some state land by the river to sit for the morning. We knew that most of the shooting was by the river that day so we thought we were in a good spot. But I think the warm weather was really hurting our luck the deer did not move around at all that morning. So we decided to walk some of the land and see if we could chase something up but came up empty. After not seeing anything in the morning we headed out to our grandparents again and came up empty there as well. We did everything we could think of that day, but came up empty. So about 3 o clock we headed back to the land by the river to sit for the nite hoping that a buck would come back in. And just our luck after shooting hours a big buck came in out of shooting range and headed back into the land and down to the river. So after that we decided to head back home so I could make the five hour drive back to Duluth. Frusturated and tired I made it home at 11 o clock that nite which is why I did not get to write about my blog that nite. So on Monday I decided to upgrade my license to a multi zone so I can continue to hunt up here. On Thursday I went out to some state land and sat on a bluff and seen two does out of shooting range for my gun. But at least up here I can shoot a buck or doe so I am hoping that I will be able to get a deer yet.

My first Deer Hunt

With the firearms season getting set to open next weekend for deer hunting. I thought I would write about my first deer hunt when I was 12 years old. It was 12 years ago that I finished up my gun safety and my dad and mom took me to walmart and bought me my first shotgun. I remember it like it was yesterday and maybe because I still have the gun today. It was a mossberg 12 gauge pump shotgun. I thought the gun was a little big for me but my dad said that if I wanted to go hunting this is the gun he would buy for me. So I did as he said and got my first shotgun. The week leading up to the second weekend of deer hunting I got all of my new blaze orange gear and did some target shooting to get used to my new shotgun. The night before my first day of deer hunting I did not sleep a wink. I was so nervous and excited to go deer hunting that I stayed up all night and kept imaging what it would be like to shoot that first deer. At about 5:30 am on that saturday morning we headed out of our house to meet the rest of our hunting party. The party which included fifteen people ! It was mostly made up of my cousin and uncles and one of my set of grandparents as well. So we met up at the farmsite and figured out who was gonna sit where for the morning and headed out to our stands. I got to go and sit with my uncle in a stand deep down in the woods. We sat down their until about 10 am and then headed back up to the farm to figure out where we would go next. So we then went to some state land and walked that and my uncles ended up taking two deer out of their. I was still waiting for my shot and boy did that make me even more excited to see the two deer they had gotten. After hanging up the two deer we had just got we headed out to a couple of groves to walk. We did not have much luck in their so we decided to do some road hunting and see if anyone else was having any luck. After a pretty slow rest of the day we called it quits until day two. Day two started out the same way with us going to our stands in the morning and then trying our luck at the spot where we had gotten two the day before. No luck this time. So after hitting a few more spots we walked a grove and I got to walk down a fence line leading up to a grove with my dad. The guys walked through the grove and chased a buck and doe out. My dad and I continued walking up the fence line hoping to see the deer. The buck was shot by one of my uncles and the doe was wounded and to my surprise heading my way. I kept on walking hoping that I would get to see a deer and much to my surprise I spotted the doe coming over the hill in the field in my direction. After seeing the deer I got down and waited for the deer to come closer and when I thought it was close enough I fired missing the doe. The doe did not run though it just stood there so I crawled on the ground a little closer and fired again hitting the doe in the shoulder. The doe took off and ran about 20 yards and dropped. I had done it, I got my first deer. I was so excited ! This was the first of many deer hunting adventures. I have gotten six deer since and cannot wait to go home next weekend and do it again.

My Saturday adventure

My past Saturday started out with having to do engagement pictures in the outdoors. I was forced at my own will to do that for a couple of hours. After the pictures were done I decided that I was going to take the rest of the afternoon to get out and try some late fall fishing, or so I thought.. Since my big boat was getting winterized so it could get put away for the winter I decided I was going to take out my duck boat and try that out. Boy was I in for a surprise. I figured that my little 35 lb thrust trolling motor I have would take me right out on the lake and over to the weeds for some fall fishing excitement. I went and loaded up my gear and picked up some leeches from the local bait shop and headed out to the lake. I put the boat in and loaded up my gear eventhough the lake was pretty rough. After parking my truck I hopped in my boat and pushed myself off trying to get into deep enough water to use my trolling motor to get going, boy was that a struggle. I tried and tried for like 15 minutes battling the wind trying to get out onto the lake, but the wind would not let me. So after struggling I decided to forget it for the day and try my luck at grouse hunting instead. After loading up my gear in my truck I headed to our new storage shed and put my boat and gear away and headed out to some public hunting land to try for some grouse where I had some luck a few days earlier. After parking my truck I loaded up my shotgun and put on my blaze orange and headed down the trail in search of a grouse or two. I walked down a few a trails and seen one grouse and got 3 shots off but missing on all of them because I think the grouse was a little bit out of range, but at least I got to fire my gun. So I continued going down trails that I had been on before and discovered new ones as well. But after about and hour and half I decided maybe it wasn't my day and headed back to my truck. I kept thinking to myself that maybe I should have stayed home and studied but I needed a break from school and work. After my luck on this saturday I wish that I would have stayed home and studied.

My first Snowmobiling Adventure

With the first snow of the season falling this week I thought I would write about my first snowmobiling adventure. My first snowmobiling adventure took place during the winter of 1997. I was 15 years old and had actually talked my parents into buying two snowmobiles. I had saved up during the summer to help out with the purchase of my new arctic cat zr 580. We shopped around all over trying to find the best deal on a used snowmobile and after about a month or so of looking we found two arctic cats. So we checked out the two snowmobiles and got the money together and bought the snowmobile that would be a part of my first snowmobile adventure. We waited for about a month and then we ended up getting about two feet of snow. As soon as I woke up that morning and saw all the snow I begged my dad to go riding with me. After about an hour of convincing him we finally headed out.
We started out about one o clock in the afternoon for my first snowmobiling adventure. We made our way out to the edge of town where we could do ditch riding in the fresh powder. we rode in the ditch for a while going pretty slow to get used my new snowmobile so that I did not wreck it. After about ten minutes or so of taking it easy I finally got to open it up a little more and fly through the fresh snow. It was so much fun to tear through the fresh powder and jump some of the drifts that had piled up in the ditches. After a couple of hours of ditch riding we found an open alfalfa field to see what the snowmobiles were really made of. My dad and I decided to have a little drag race to see which sled was faster. My dad got the early lead but after I got some traction I caught up to him and flew by him, at speeds around 70 mph, "what a rush" ! So after opening up our snowmobiles in the field we decided to do some more ditch riding and head back to town. At about seven o clock or so we made it back home and parked the snowmobiles for the night. I could not wait to get back on my snowmobile the next day and ride again.

My First Grouse Hunt

My first grouse hunt took place this week with myself and co worker. It was Thursday afternoon, the wind was light and the temperature was a comfortable 55 degrees or so. I had never been grouse hunting before. I usually go pheasant hunting because I am from southern Minnesota where there are no grouse to hunt. So now that I live up here I figured I would give it a shot and I am glad I did. We took off and headed up north to some state land about 25 minutes or so away from Duluth. We arrived at our spot around 4 o'clock or so and began our adventure. We loaded up our guns and put on our blaze orange vests and headed down the first trail we found in search of my first grouse. I really didn't know what to expect I knew that it would be harder to knock down a grouse than a pheasant or duck because of the size difference but I figured I would have fun trying at least. So we took off down the trail looking along the edges of the trees to see if we could spot one. We walked down the first trail for 10 minutes or so and saw nothing. We then decided to head down another trail would take us in another direction and hopefully give us a little more luck. So we headed down the trail and finally about 5 minutes into the trail we saw our first grouse of the afternoon. The grouse got up and flew across the trail infront of us, I fired 3 times and missing all three and then my buddy that was hunting with me fired 2 times and knocked the grouse down to the ground. I had figured out that it really was going to be a lot harder to knock down a grouse than a pheasant that was for sure. So we picked up the grouse and continued down the trail in search for more grouse. As more and more time had passed I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get another chance at a grouse or not, when finally about 10 yards ahead of me I spotted another grouse and I thought here is another chance, the grouse got up and I started shooting, and wouldn't know it I finally got my first grouse. What a relief and fun time. Grouse are definitely the hardest bird I have had to try to hit. So after I looked at my grouse for a few minutes and admired my first grouse we picked it up and headed back towards our truck hoping that maybe we would see a few more birds before we headed out. And guess what , We did we ended up getting two more birds a piece before we left. So overall I would say that my first outdoor adventure grouse hunting was a successful one for me and I can 't wait to get back out and do it again.