Archive for November, 2010
Guides Day Off
Nov 16th
It was a hot late August day, the only thing on my mind was browns, terrestrials and the Green. Having my younger brother as a guide gave me all the more reason to get away and spend three full days in search of a good time. Since I had some flexibility in my schedule I chose to by-pass the weekend and fish mid-week, when I could take advantage of a free guide on his days off and no crowds. The trip started with a quick A, that produced lots of takes on oversized terrestrials, but too many failed hook ups on my end. Tired, beaten, and out smarted by picky trout. I vowed to regroup and up my game for tomorrow. The morning found me alone at one of my favorite riffles below little hole as Jordan and his wife Sarah had some work to do before we could take off for our next adventure. The riffles didn’t disappoint as many trout fell victim to my PMX and midges. I even managed to hook and land a nice 18″ Bow that spit my hook the day before. It was sweet revenge. By late morning we were on the road and to the C. I was really looking forward to floating this section as the fish are said to be bigger and harder to find. A perfect match for a couple adventure junkies. The legend didn’t disappoint as the fish were as beautiful as the surrounding and eager to munch a big hopper along the bank. We had our chances at a couple fish of the year(In fact back to back casts), but 4x just won’t cut it Jord! I hope you get your voice back from yelling/cursing at yourself and the fish. You can’t beat big bug eating browns, great weather and not another sole on the river. It was close to the perfect day off. All we needed was to land one of the two 27+ inchers, Jord… It hurts.
Utah Stream Access Coalition Files Suit
Nov 14th
See the SLT write-up: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50666012-76/access-public-utah-act.html.csp
Powell 2010
Nov 5th
Our annual September Lake Powell trip was better then ever. (It even felt more like a vacation than a trip) The weather for the most part stayed awesome giving us lots of glass for wakeboarding, surfing, sking and of course chasing boils. The main focus of the trip was water sports, since Liz and I had just picked up a Mastercraft X-30 the week before the trip. The ole Glastron was great and treated us well, but lets be real. Its not even close to as nice as an X-30. With our new baby, I spent most of the off time checking out how things worked on the boat. (like the shower, bilge pump, ballast tanks, speakers, etc…) The rest of the time we hungout on the houseboat playing cards, eating, laying out, watching movies on the cliff walls and catching bass and carp that patrolled the houseboat. One of the best parts of the trip was that we didn’t have to go out side of our cove to find great fishing. The cove we stayed held lots of shad and where you find shad you find ambushing strippers and bass. So every morning and evening we listened for the boils and when we heard them its was an all out stampede to get to them before they stopped. In all it was a little piece of heaven on earth. There are few other things that rival a 7 day vacation to Lake Powell durning the first weekend in September. Its a magical place to say the least. The pictures will help tell the rest of the story…
First Deer
Nov 2nd
For all those that know me, know the ups and downs I have been through over the past 3 years hunting big game. It has been a roller coaster of ups and lots of downs. (Past Deer Hunts and Elk Hunts) I haven’t taken the tradition road as most hunters do, by learning how to hunt with their dad or family. I didn’t have any hunting partners, so I was self taught, from trial and lot of error.(And hunting shows which aren’t very realistic, since I can’t hire a guide) To top that off, I didn’t start with a rifle, I started with my bow and made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t shot anything under a 4 x 4. So now you know where I am coming from, here’s the story of my first deer. It all happened Sept 5th. I had been in Milwaukee, WI for grueling 3 week work training. So with only 2 days left of the muzzleloader hunt, I decided I needed to get out and at least try. I got to my tree stand around 4:30pm and waited what felt like days, but nothing moved until the last golden hour and then there were bucks moving all over. I first spotted a little 3 point that was out of my range at 200+ yrds. Then across the meadow, I saw a buck that we called The Freak, because of its non-typical thick antlers and big body. It was moving toward the 3 point and in a hurry. After I lost site of 
The Freak, I heard some noise to my left and saw a little 2 point and spike working their way down a trail only about 40 yrds away. I had to make a decision and fast! I thought what the heck, I need to finally get a deer, so I climbed down my tree and started my stalk on the 2 point. Just like the millions of times before the wind swirled and the deer busted me and took off. As I was walking back to my stand bummed about the stalk, I noticed the three point looking right at me 100 yrds away. SUCK!!! I thought as I froze stiff. After what felt like forever, the buck put its head down and kept moving the same direction. Since I had spent 1000′s of hours with these deer I knew right where he was headed. So I waited till he got behind a tree and I ran to get into position to meet him. Sure enough, just as luck would have it the deer came right down the trail and within 40 yrds. I took aim and let it rip. What I thought was a vital shot, resulted with a deer standing up looking right at me and them bouncing off. No way I thought, I had to have hit him. So I went to see if there was any blood. As I got to the spot where I thought the 3 point was standing, I saw nothing. But then I heard the most beautiful noise, 5 ft away in the thick bushes was The Freak lying down slowly kicking its feet. With the low light, I didn’t noticed that that freak had moved in with the 3 point and was leading the pack. I Did It! . After lots of yelling and self- fulfillment moments, I called a buddy to help me pack it out. It was and still is an awesome feeling to be able to learn and go through so much without quitting. Then right when you are ready to quit, it all comes together and you reach your goal that you have worked so hard for. I have learned that nothing can replace hard work, time in the field and determination…Sooner or later luck falls on your side. I am a big game hunter in the field and in the stream.
