The misadventures of a hayseed outdoorsman

Last  article that I wrote for you about goose and duck hunting, I said Iwould just breifly talk about the pre-season deer scouting or as some would call it the pre-rut. As I mentioned earlier, I am not one who hunts during the early bow season, but the same tactics and rules apply for both bow hunter’s and rifle and shotgunner’s and black powder. Difference being length of season and time of the season,black powder starting post rut during the winter and bow season starting Oct I.

I have been out the past couple of weeks doing some pre-rut scouting on some private farm land,which a good farmer friend of mine has so graciously allowed me to hunt. I did mention in some past fishing articles how technology seemed to be interfering with good ol’e instincts and field savvy. Well I must confess that I succumbed to new age gizmo’s,and bought a infared trail game camera.

To my credit,I did do the proper scouting finding a well used game trail, which led to a bedding area. I also had found the intersecting trails which have the three most important elements in any animal’s life. These elements are FOOD/WATER/COVER. I also located a very fresh rub and scrape which is the ultimate payoff of spending a lot of time in the woods.

When scouting in the woods, I went in when the weather was not  sunny and calm, but when it was drizzling and or windy. The advantage here was mine,because generally deer will hold tight in this type of weather. they can’t pick-up your scent when the wind is blowing all over the place and walking during or after a rain is almost ghost like because the leaves are now very soft making no noise. Just remember to step over those blow downs and branches because these will still SNAP,CRACKLE and POP.

After locating what I thought was a bonanza spot, I set-up a scent wick  doused with some doe in heat urine on a over hanging branch above the visible scrape. I then attached my trail camera on a tree about 15′ away pointing towards the set-up. After about 7 days, I checked my camera,and was pleased to see images of a heavy bodied six point buck and trailing him was a young doe. I also captured an image of a very healthy and well fed coyote. There were several pics taken at different times of the day,night and week.

I must conclude that this camera performed flawlessly and only proved what I had already found out through my tireless scouting. But it is reassuring when you can actually see the fruits of your efforts recorded on film. In conclusion I would tell anyone that setting up a camera not only gives you proof of  the game but will also give you tracking skills confidence.  I know I said  I would make this article short and I got a bit carried away,so I thank you for your patience.

Until next time, Good Hunting!  L.W.

Well, both duck and goose season got off to a start this week as you could probably guess with the sounds of the twenty-one gun salutes early in the pre-dawn hours. I was able to harvest six large Canadians,those being geese and not people. A few were shot on the wing and the other’s I managed to call to the decoys. The weather is still untypically mild for this time of the year and the birds aren’t in any hurry to fly south just yet.

Once the cold night’s in October arrive and the farmer’s begin to take down the corn,those geese will start to migrate and start to put on that nice corn fat. Then you should experience some great field shooting over decoys. Even with this mild opener,hunter’s shooting seems to frighten and get the birds airborne for a chance shot or two. As far as cleaning the geese I have both skinned them whole and just removed the breast’s and legs. I never have plucked them,skinning is faster and you don”t have that greasy meat everybody complains about. If you are going to bake,broil or slow cook them or even make sausages and goose burgers,I would mix in or cook with a few strips of bacon to replace the fat you skinned out or they will become to dry and tough! Remember to check your meat carefully for any steel shot before you prepare and before you eat any. Otherwise you could end up going to the dentist for some repair work.

One last tip. If you are not a fan of gamey tasting meat of any kind like deer,birds,bear or moose,I suggest you marinate your wild game in either buttermilk or coca-cola,the acids in both these liquids will break down the meat fibre and tenderize the meat along with taking away the gamey taste. Good luck with your bird hunting and preparation for the  table.

I’ll write soon when it”s closer to the gun season for deer, I am not a bow hunter but I have been thinking about it.

        Your’s in good hunting!

                                                    L.W.

You start to see them flying more,the nights are getting cooler. Keeping that great formation,the great inverted V,we as goose hunter’s come to understand as the early season goose hunt. The season starts Sept.8-18,a Thursday opener and a Sunday closer,some W.M.U.’s alow Sunday hunting like in my region, which is #82. The possession limit is 8 birds. Don’t forget to buy your migratory bird stamp at the Post office, it’s $17.00.

Long range weather indicates rain just before the opening day,perfect! That should create some pot holes and help with levels generally here in the the mid-huron area where I live. Generally geese love large areas of water to turn in for the night,I love to set-up an hour before dusk putting floating mags on the water about 40 yds out from the natural cattail and spear grass marsh edge bordering this 1 acre wetland .

I hope you had some decent fishing this summer so far. I caught a few smallies here in the maitland river. I only have a 151/2 canoe now, that I use for duck hunting and canoe trips. So I’m just waiting for the rainbow and salmon run ,once the temps drop they’ll start their migration back to the Mighty Huron. I have been focusing more on my shooting and doing a lot of clay shooting. I love to duck/goose/grouse hunt,so it’s good practise for these type of birds.

Well,I hope you catch lot’s of fish and harvest a few ducks and geesse this fall. And remember to shoot within your capable and comfortable “kill zone” as I like to refer it as. You owe it to your quarry,a quick,clean and efficient kill. Good Luck!

                                                                L.W.

Hi! Guy’s and Gal’s,boy’s and girl’s! I hope you had success on the pickerel and pike opener. I can tell you that when I went out, I also caught a fair number of small mouth bass when the season wasn’t open yet. Isn’t that the way it goes.

I also witnessed some anglers catching and keeping bass, and dutifully reported this action to the local MNR. I encourage you to do the same. This type of behaviour affects us all,these female bass are still nesting on their fry.Fishing is 90% patience and 10% REWARD,try and remember this.

I’m not sure if I mentioned that I am currently based in the Goderich area. I moved here about a year ago. I lived for many years in the Port Perry district,and enjoyed many fishing forays both in the summer and winter at the famous Lake Scugog Reservoir.  I find that there are not a lot of  specific pickerel and pike lakes here on the west coast. But because I live right on the famous Maitland River close to the mouth outlet to Lake Huron, I readily enjoy fishing for rainbow and salmon on their migration runs in the spring and fall.

The thing about Lake Huron is that it does contain a variety of fish. You can catch pike,pickerel,perch and very large smallies. You don’t even need a boat, you can catch these fish in the harbor and in the river off shore! The only down side to being this far west is that you are about 2 hours from the 400 hwy north to access all those beautiful northern lakes and with the rising price of gas, you can’t always go every day. One could board the Manitoulin Ferry in Tobermorry for the 2 hour ride,then drive to Hwy 17 and onto Espanola and then true north wilderness.

I recently have sold my two aluminum boats and  my 8 h.p. Johnson. They were beginning to show signs of wear and old age. they were also beginning to be quite cumbersome loading and unloading into the back of my Ranger. So I bought a 12′ Zodiac with a 15 H.P. Yamaha, it’s a nice combo.

I used to own a 10′ model a few years back with a 10 H.P. They are very light. You can inflate them in minutes and are the safest boats in the world.So on the pickerel opener, I got on the great blacktop and drove 2-1/2 hrs west to  a lake in the small town Katrine just 40 min north of Huntsville. This lake is actually a chain of 3 lakes called Little,Medium and Big Doe Lake. I used to fish these lakes a lot when I was still working especially on the weekends.

Well everything is about 2 weeks late this year, and the water still hasn’t flipped over. So fishing was very slow. I only caught 4 pickerel in the 3-4lb range and a couple of pike about 8 lbs. And I really had to work for them. I literally used every trick but found that the minnow and jig combo worked the best for the pickerel and a top water popper or buzz bait worked well for the toothy pike with an 8″ wire leader.

I also incidentally caught a few nice smallies in the 3-4 lb range. This lake is a nice lake to fish with an average depth of 10-12′ with some holes nearing 50-60′ and some nice river run between lakes which were holding the pickerel. Also some very nice weed flats and rocky drop offs for the pike and smallies when in season. All in all it was a good fish, brought back some fond memories and was a good field test for the new boat, after all isn’t that what it’s all about?

It’s a nice lake to fish and easy to navigate,not intimidating the wind predominantly blows from the west and can sometimes catch you off guard with a little 2′ chop. Well bass’in starts in a few days, not a very finicky fish to pursue but lot’s of real bull dogg’in action,if you’re using a light to med action set-up. This time of the year you can basically throw anything at them and be assured results. Well good luck with the rest of the pickerel and pike season,things should just about start to heat up for these fish.

 And I hope you a very successful Bass opener! I won’t be writing to many more articles through the summer if any,but those who have posted comments asking me if I twitter I apologize that I do not . Please feel free to post comments or inquiries on my web site. I’m very new to this type of media, I just became computer litterate about 6 mths ago while purchasing a 10″ Aspire one note book, I have fallen in love with it! I will be posting articles regularly again about fishing and hunting in Sept thru till ice-up when we can all once again enjoy these fantastic outdoors in pursuit of our great pastime and our internal need for surviving and enjoying what we harvest!

   Until then,tight lines and please be aware of your surroundings and above all be very safe!

                Your’s Truly, L.W.

I hope you young hunters have been fortunate enough to harvest a nice gobbler, if not we still have a half turkey season left to do it!  I must admit the weather hasn’t been the best. Unfortunatley spring has come about two weeks later than usual making fishing and hunting a bit more challenging than normal. I personally haven’t harvested a turkey yet, but I have been watching a big ole gobbler with a nice long beard going back and forth from a corn field to a pine tree field every morning at around 10 o’clock every day.

And he”s pretty cagey, I have  stopped him in his tracks a couple of times but he’s pretty wiley, explains the length of his beard! I’m hoping he will slip up some morning or afternoon and hopefully be taking him home over my shoulder!  Depending on where you live the pike and walleye seasons open up the third saturday in May further up north and  the fourth saturday in most other southern and central ontario regions. One can catch  both kinds of these fish without a boat in early season, by just fishing close to river mouths,shallow weed and grassy bay areas for huge pike. The water is still cool in these areas and warms up a little just the way these ish like it early on in the season.

Minnows and inflated dewworms on jig heads always produce well. Mister Twister grub baits in colours like yellow with a white jig head or a lime green colour (chartreuse) grub twister will almost always catch walleye if you jig it or slowly troll it close to the bottom. Be brave and try crank baits or slow rolling a perch coloured rappala! This time of the year they are really hungry after a lean winter and will just about hit anything.

Pike will always go for the old traditional spoon offerings, like the red and white DareDevyl or Yellow and Red  Five of diamonds. You can really get some awsome action by rigging up a live sucker or chub treble hook rig with a big bobber and watch the pike smash that down! As the season deepens and the temperature gets warmer these fish will head into deeper waters,that’s when having a boat will come in handy. But for this early opener try and get out and fish these accessable places and you will be rewarded with some nice early season walleye and pike!

For those of you who are deciding on your first boat or are thinking of down sizing,maybe I can be of some help to you. For years I hauled around a typical 14′ aluminum with a 20 h.p. motor. I had witnessed many verbal arguments and long lineups at public boat launches and incredible prices charged for launching your boat and even boater’s who didn’t know or care about proper launch rules. So I decided  to pick myself up a nice 12′aluminum Springbok boat and a 8h.p. motor, I throw this boat in the back of my Ford Ranger 4×4 and that’s it no arguments no waiting at the launch for inconsiderate boater’s,nothing!

I go and fish any lake,and I have from eastern ontario,northern ontario all the way to visiting my good friend for twenty years in Lake Tesin,Yukon Territories. With this outfit you can virtually get into some of the most remotest lakes where the best fishing can be done. This boat and motor combo is very light to haul and easy to load in your truck! I’m 53 years old and am in fantastic shape, I do work out 4 times a week, I am not a muscle head,I have better things to do like fishing and hunting but you still need to be in shape and be strong when you are in the outdoors,especially when you are on your’e own,which I have been doing since I was 16 yrs old,that’s 36 years.

You don’t need a fancy expensive rig to do some serious fishing, you just need the hunger for the great outdoors and what it has to offer you!

Until next time,(Bass Opener) Good Fishing,Tight Lines! 

L.W.

Hello young hunters and fishermen and fisherladies! Well we’re getting awful close to the opening day of trout and turkey season. The snow is all but gone in most places around southern, eastern, western and some parts of near northern Ontario. Hopefully if you are going to hunt wild turkey this season, and the weather co-operated you were walking in your favorite hunting area in the forest or scouting fields looking for some turkey sign. Signs like turkey turds,wing scrapes and even feathers left over from a coyote kill should give you a fairly good idea where old uncle tom might be heading or coming from. I’ve been out myself, doing some late afternoon putting, and I don’t mean on the golf course!

I’ll head out about 6:30, and do a bit of soft purri’n and whine’in and sure enough a couple of hens have come out followed by a young jake! Old toms are smart, that’s why they are old! It’ll take some dedicated calling and some good hen and jake decoy positioning but you will harvest another turkey or it might be your first turkey! Using a locator call, the night before will also help you find where the birds may be roostin’ or where they will be parking their tailfeathers for the night.

You can use a crow call effectively, because most if not all animals are not spooked by crows, they hear them all the time. Turkeys tend to answer crows. I like to use a coyote call where I hunt because of the population of these predators and there’s always a pile of feathers to be found in the winter or spring! Gives me a better idea where they may be, cause turkeys get awful rattled when they hear a coyote yelp or howl.

I try to make my field or bush set-up as easy as I can. I’ll set up a couple of hen and and a couple of jake decoys, just to irritate Ol’e Tom and make him a mite jealous! I like to set my decoys just outside the bush line maybe 10 yds into an open old corn field. I’ll hide myself so that the turkeys will cross my line of fire on their way to feel these decoys out. I’m comfortable shooting at a range out to about 25-30 yds, closer is nicer but then you really have to be hid and camouflaged well. But I think that’s all the fun! I try not to overcall, it’s hard I know, I’ve done it lots of times and said bye-bye to the bird. If you think the bird has stopped coming, 90% of  the time he’s just being careful and taking his time figurin’ out where this HOT BIRD is.

Make sure you get out and pattern that gun in! I’ll use a 15 and a max 30 yd distance range for patterning. If  I can get 7-10 pellets hitting the head and or the neck bone area from those distances, I feel very confident. The gun I use is a NewEngland single shot 12guage, with a 36″ long barrel. It has a full choke, and I use Remington Magnum #4 shot shells made for Turkey Hunting. It’s also shoots 2-3/4 and 3″ shells. Now you new hunters probably own these new guns that shoot 3and3-1/2″ shells. If you are a small built shooter, guy or girl and you tense up when shooting, what I like to refer as shooter’s flinch or shooter’s blink, I would stay away from heavy magnum loads, like the remington loads I mentioned above.

These loads give a good kick, and if you’re not properly setting your hand and cheek on the comb of the stock (top of the stock) your cheek is goin’ to feel it. It might even feel like you loosened a few upper teeth. You can still get good penetration and knockdown power if you use Federal Hi-Brass Loads in a Lite-magnum load of #6′s. You won’t feel so much of a kick, and the hard brass will certaintly do the job on old Tom. It’ll help a lot too if you have an extra tight choke to keep that shot pattern tight and dense.

All that’s left to do now is call him in as close as you can! Just remember, you are not required to wear hunter orange out in the field, but if you are runnin; and gunnin’ where there are others huntin’, it’s only smart to let them know you are out there too! And do not wear any colors that match Old Tom, like red,white and blue. I want you, and you want you, to be able to go hunting again without fear of being accidently shot!

One last thing,when you’re out in the field this April and May, whether you’re fishing for specks or hunting Tom, remember that around the middle of May you should be able to see those tasty ferns in the bush we call fiddle heads. Pick them while the heads are still curled shut, just soak them in cold water, trim the stalks down a bit, boil them like you would broccolli and put some butter on  them, and serve them with those nice fresh speckies you just caught.

And when you have finished eating that great meal, drop me a line on my website and tell me all about your fishing and hunting adventure! I can’t wait to hear all about it!

My next article will be in a few weeks when we start gettin’ closer to the walleye and pike season openers. Until then tight lines and safe shooting! L.W.

In  my last write-up I talked about using a short light action rod if you are going to do some trout’in in those little creeks. Reason bein is that most creeks in some treed areas have just that. A lot of overhanging limbs and blowdowns and just plain nasty walking to get to those fishing spots. So a little rod won’t likely get caught up when your moving around and makes those nice little flip casts a lot easier.

Time and time again I’ve heard people say, that creek or stream is way too small to hold any fish! But specks or browns or any fish need just a couple of things to call a place home. They need some sort of cover,a hiding place if  you will. Some place they feel safe.Then they need a place in the water where it runs a little fast, like a small current so it can give them some fresh air for their bodies, this fast water will also send food right up to their mouths.

Food like mayflys,small bugs and worms get washed into these creeks during the spring thaw. So if you can find an area that has these great things you will have success! Areas to look for could be a bend in the creek,some areas that are really filled up with jammed up wood and branches from a storm blowdown or even better a beaver dam, depending where you are. A real nice spot can be under a deep undercut bank with that  nice big cedar giving lot’s of cover early in the season or the big ole willow midway or late season. If you see some big rocks  in the creek,fish will hold just down stream from it,lots of times just behind it, because the water gets really churned up there giving a fresh supply of air,food and yes cover!

When I fish for these trout,I like to adjust my reel drag depending where I am fishing.If I’m in a little tight spot and there’s a lot of wood in that spot,I’ll keep a tight drag,just so I don’t  have him or her pulling me into some kind of mess of jangled branches etc. Don’t worry about horson in these  fish,cause their usually in the 1-3 lb. range. And you should  be spooled up with 4lb line  that way you can get him in fast and on your stringer!

I’ve always caught a mess of brookies and browns using just a small hook,a#10-12,a little split shot about 8-10 inches above the hook and using half a dew worm or a red mealy worm. Now depending how deep a creek or stream your’e in you’ll have to adjust the sinker. Sometimes I’ll just let the current take my line down stream or some times I’ll find some what I call ‘deadwater’ a still fishing hole. You can just flip it and let it fall slowly or slowly just reel and stop,reel and stop.

Casting a small spinner in a small current or just infront of that rock in a current that I mentioned earlier works great too! Just hold the spinner tight line and the little blades will start to dance in the water looking  like a bug at a 24 hr dance marathon! Pretty hard to pass that up! You can always use a bobber,pencil or all the kinds of floats out there too. I like to keep it simple with the hardware,specks and brownies spook pretty easy.

Talking about being spooked. Always try to get where your’e going with as a little a ruckus as you can. Try to crawl if you can or hide behind trees for cover to get to the edge of  the bank. Wearing camo or dark clothes and not creating a shadow by standing in front of the sun will greatly improve your odds. If the water is clear your success depends on doing these simple things!

I’ll end my article by lastly saying to be very aware of your surroundings.Be very careful when approaching edges of banks,especially undercut ones. The spring thaw can weaken and fast water can wash away dirt that may have been there last season but it ain’t there now! I know very well,I have fallen a few times down a creek and only hurt my pride, then there were times I fell down a very deep and rocky ravine and twisted my ankle real bad! If you feel adventurous enough to fish some of those deep ravines,always take along a 50′ long good nylon rope to tie on and climb down slowly,good pair of gloves and boots and water,it can be thirsty work!

Last but certaintly not least if you are going it alone, please tell somebody exactly where you will be fishing, take your cell phone, if you are driving, info about the vehicle,take your map and compass,G.P.S.And if you are going to fish in black bear country,please take bear spray and make sure they know you are there,because this is the time when Mr Rip Van Winkle bear wakes up and is usually pretty hungry!

Next week I’ll hopefully bring you upto date on some Turkey Tricks I’ve learned over the years,that’s if I haven’t fallen down any ravines again! Don’t forget to read the fishing regs about limits,slot sizes and areas.

                                 Tight Lines    L.W.

I just wanted to touch on how inexpensive it can be to enjoy the outdoors,whether you are fishing,hunting,camping or just out there exploring. I never really bought into the theory that modern technology always produced more fish and game,or helped you find your way outdoors more easily. Being able to read a compass and take a bearing,whether from landpoints or a map is essential. Some times that new G.P.S. just won’t pickup any signals and you might just end up having to use smoke signals, that’s if you know how!

If you own a standard 6′-7′ med action rod,with a good 3 or more ballbearing spincast reel,there’s not too many fish you won’t be able to land. If your’e catchin and releasing you should be using some barbless hooks,less wear and tear on the fella. I would also get your self a nice little 5′-51/2  light action rod if you decide to do some stream or creek fishing for those fiesty speckled and brown trout.

Fishing the small backwoods and farm streams is what I first experienced as a boy of ten years old. Your fishing tackle doesn’t have to cost you all the money in the world either. Any kid who gets a small allowance or even has a paper route can easily afford this fishing gear. Small hooks,few different sizes of lead splitshot sinkers and freshly caught dew worms or if you can stretch your pocket, a couple of fancy small size #0/00 spinner lures by the name of Mepps or Bluefox. Catching your own dew worms is not only cheap but a whole heck of a lotta fun! If your’e MOM will let you store them in fridge that’ll make’m last a lot longer,if not just find a cool  spot like maybe the garage or the basement.

I hope this has given you a little insight on how fishing doesn’t have to cost a lot of money! Especially when you are small troutin. The rainbows have started to run a little depending on where you live. I won’t go to deep on this subject because there seem to be a split way of thinking on which is the best way to fish these type of fish. Whether you should use pin-type fishing reels or those who prefer spinning reels. Best decide what’s comfortable for you and don’t always let the crowd tell you what’s the best way!

I was duck hunting one year with an older friend of mine,he was 74 yrs old and he always told me that a fancy fishin stick or a fancy shootin iron never caught a fish or harvested any type of game. In other words pretty doesn’t bring it home! Your’e fishing or hunting gear is only as good as the person who is using it. I’ve used to fish and hunt with a couple of guys who owned some pretty fancy rigs, but they proved that they couldn’t hit the backside of a moose with a shovel full of peas!  PRACTICE,PRACTICE  whether your’e casting a line or if you are old enough and are legally able to own a firearm,you will get better and it’s fun too!

I hope to publish a story and some helpful hint every Thursday,time permitting. I’ll try to address the type of fishing or hunting that corresponds with the opening season of that particular fowl/fish/game.  As we get closer to the opening season of trout fishing, I’ll have an article for you up and comers for stream speckies and brownies and  and for those intermediates. And by all means. if you have any new fishin ideas that could help me or our readers please feel free to knock on this cabin door,  your’e always welcome! Until next time,tight lines! L.W.