Idaho Triple
Our most recent hunt found us back in Idaho with Boulder Creek Outfitters (www.bouldercreekoutfitters.com). This is a place I’ve hunted for the past seven years, and there’s a reason I keep going back. This time I held three tags: elk, muley and whitetail. We hunted west of Grangeville, atop the breathtaking Joseph Plains for muleys and elk, and near White Bird, for whitetail. These areas are in units 13 & 14, which are dominated by private lands. Day one found us in search of elk, and it didn’t take long to find what we were looking for. Along the Snake River breaks of Hell’s Canyon, a herd of over 20 head fed their way up a rugged draw. Looking through the spotting scope, I watched a bull rake the ground then let out an impressive bugle. Grabbing our gear, we prepared for a tough hike, chasing the herd up the canyon as they quickly fed toward their bedding area. Matt Craig, owner of Boulder Creek Outfitters, and I cow called and bugled our way to the herd. Every time we made a sound, the bull would bugle right back. We’d lost sight of him early in the stalk as he moved [...]
Spring & Summer Fishing Adventures
“Dad, how long’s it been since you’ve made a blog post?” quizzed my oldest son. “Uh...wow, a long time,” I hesitated. “Yeah, 9 months,” he reminded me. While I love my job of hunting and fishing, finding time to share the adventures in every medium available these days, isn’t easy. In an effort to improve getting information out there–the real reason I do what I do–I know making consistent posts are something I need to improve upon. Our speaking and seminar schedule was crazy from January through May, this year, traveling to the east coast multiple times, and driving to different states throughout the West. We’ve also been developing a new website geared toward sharing information on hunting, fishing, cooking, destination adventures, and more. Stay tuned, as I’ve not seen anything quite like this site, one we hope to launch early this fall. Oh, I also wrote a book on clam digging for a publisher and have written over 75 magazine articles this year, on top of the more than 60 seminars I gave. Yes, life is busy, and there are only so many hours in the day. But, I was able to get out fishing a good bit this spring [...]
From The Arctic To Valdez
Part two of our Alaskan adventure found us regrouping, thanks to the help of many friends. Unfortunately, the middle of the trip suffered some setbacks due to the passing of Tim Delarm’s dad, as many of you may know. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Tim is the head videographer and producer of Alaska Outdoors TV, on the Outdoor Channel, the show I was in Alaska filming for for nearly a month. Though a week was lost filming (and a 10 day deer hunt on Kodiak Island, cancelled), it was a reminder that nothing is as important as family. With a week until I had to be home, we called on Butch & Jehnifer Ehmann, in Palmer, AK. Butch and Jehn’ are noted anglers, specializing in ice fishing, and they were kind enough to take us on an early season ice fishing adventure. I learned so much, had a blast and we came away with a solid show. It’s been a long time since I’ve ice fished, and it was amazing to see the advancements in gear which made for fun, comfortable times, despite temps’ plunging into the ‘teens and winds in excess of 30 mph. [...]
From Adak To The Kenai
We’re off and running in Alaska. The first week was spent hunting caribou on Adak Island, Alaska’s westernmost, and southernmost, city. Just seeing the WWII history in this place, and all the other military infrastructure, was incredible. Hundreds of homes and many buildings sit, vacant. Amazing to be in a town that once held 90,000 people, but now has 80. Hunting here didn’t seem to be what it was five or 10 years ago, at least it surprised me and my buddies, Paul Atkins, Cory Kittle and Tim Delarm, who was filming the action for Alaska Outdoors TV. Supposedly there are nearly 3,000 caribou on the island, but we saw only a couple dozen during our time there. There were more hunters than we expected, and only one small bull caribou killed between all parties, that we know of. We didn’t see any bulls. But that’s okay, because we were on a meat hunt. Since the caribou on Adak don’t migrate, I’ve heard it's the best eating caribou in Alaska. The climate here is mild compared to other regions caribou call home, and the fact food is plentiful and predators nonexistent, means caribou aren’t too stressed. With three cow caribou down, [...]
Doves & Pigeons & Dogs, Oh My!
I grew up hunting doves and pigeons. Back in the 1970s and early ‘80s, the daily limit on bandtails in Oregon was 7, today it’s only 2. But with favorable nesting conditions the past few springs, this fall marked the most bandtails I’ve seen in over 20 years...which meant the hunting was exceptional. Over the course of the short, mid-September season, the whole family was able to get out after bandtails at various times. With the hot weather, pigeons stuck around and shooting was good in the foothills of the Cascades and in the Coast Range. We worked feeding areas where birds moved amongst various berry crops and also intercepted them as they flew ridgelines heading from the roost to distant feeding grounds. The shooting was fast-paced, but we all got birds, and everyone had a blast. Oregon’s dove season saw the limits bumped up to 15 a day, and a season extending through the end of October. Loads of doves were around the entire season, and still are, and the whole family got in on some great shooting. Not only was the hunting good, but Tiffany worked her magic in the kitchen, cooking the best dove and pigeon we’ve [...]
National Rifle Association Convention…& More!
Being in the outdoor industry, full-time, Tiffany and I wear many hats. Together we deliver nearly 100 seminars a year, but this sportshow season, for the first time ever, we joined forces on some presentations. It was such a hit in the Northwest shows we attend that the National Rifle Association (NRA) asked us to present at their annual convention. This year the NRA Convention was in Indianapolis, and Cabela’s sponsored the trip. The seminar topic: How to field dress, skin, butcher, store and cook big game. It was a smashing success in Indy’ and the attendance was incredible and much appreciated. We met some great people and shared lots of information. One of the things we love most about seminars, is people attend them by choice, meaning we are all there because we share a common interest. Another is that Tiffany and I are still learning, always will be, and when we come away from such fun events having gained insight, ourselves, well that’s a bonus. We love the interaction; I guess that’s the teachers coming out in us. Next year we look to do the same tag-team seminar, where half an animal is brought in and we share how [...]