2020 Hunting and Fishing and Outdoors

[scout88305]

Need some positivity with the state of events so started the 2020 outdoors thread

[Tim]

Saw my first fawn today, no more than a day old, staggering across the end of my runway

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[scout88305]

Labs, Walleyes, and Skywagons! The old guy can still catch fish.

[mvivion]

Great photos, Eric, and some nice fish there!

MTV

[High Country]

My 10 year old daughters first bear taken on Memorial Day.

[Brian M]

I've generally only posted airplane-accessed hunt stories here, but agreed that some positive distractions are in order.

This story really starts a year ago. At the start of last summer my son crushed multiple fingers on both hands due to an unfortunate accident involving playing on a rolling driveway gate. Kids, right? He almost lost his thumb and had to have pretty serious surgery on both hands. Needless to say, his dreams of summer adventures were dashed. We managed to salvage a bit of camping and fishing late in the summer, but I must admit it was very difficult to watch my child go through that ordeal. We weren't able to hunt together much last fall due to his ongoing recovery. Thankfully he has had nearly full recovery apart from some minor loss of range of motion, and I am so thankful for the care he received. The week that we just had would have been incredible regardless, but after what he endured last year, it was simply unreal.


We headed out into the Sound on Monday with a bear tag in his pocket, but mostly with plans to play and have fun. His best friend since infancy was along, as was his father who has been a close friend of mine for years. We've never done a boys trip like this, so that alone made the excursion special. The fun started immediately, and it just kept on coming. We encountered orcas within 45 minutes of leaving the harbor, and as we drifted they approached us and put on a little show for the boys. 15 minutes later we were joined by porpoises, which the boys watched from the bow of the boat for a good 15 minutes. We saw one bear that evening as we motored, but he didn't stick around long enough for us to even consider launching the dingy. Still, it definitely got my boy's excitement up for the rest of the trip!





We started the next morning with an excellent pull of the pots, did some jigging for rockfish, then went and explored a new-to-me bay. We hiked for a few hours in a ridiculously beautiful spot with surprisingly easy walking. About 10 minutes after pointing out wolverine tracks in the snow to the boys, my buddy spotted one down on the flats below us. Crazy! I've only seen a couple ever, and definitely never one in the Sound. Oh, and we saw an elephant seal that morning when setting the shrimp pots in a new location. We hardly believed our eyes at first, as this is well outside of their normal range, but there was absolutely no mistaking that it was a male elephant seal. That and a wolverine sighting in one day...clearly our luck had been spent and then some. We saw two bears walking along hillsides that day, but nothing that looked possible to stalk, so we just enjoyed the sight.


The next day we decided to reposition the pots to a place we had previously done well, and thereafter to spend the early afternoon jigging for rockfish while watching some grassy beaches for bears. While pulling in an empty jig my buddy's rod bent over, but then something strange happened. Instead of diving like all of the other bottom fish we had caught, this fish started swimming away and towards the surface. We both looked at each other and said "Uh...that fish is swimming like a salmon.". Sure enough, 5 minutes later we had a ~25 pound white king on the deck. Crazy! Needless to say, we decided to switch from targeting rockfish to trolling for kings (while keeping an eye on the beaches, of course). It took us another hour and a half, but eventually we had another takedown. We lost that king at the net when the leader broke (and I missed getting it in the net), but 10 minutes later we got another strike. This one fought differently as well, but in the opposite way. Instead of fighting like a salmon, it repeatedly dove with the pulsing pulls of a halibut. Soon my son's friend had his first halibut on board, and at ~40 pounds it was nearly as long as he is tall! We later caught another king as well, which was such an unexpected treat.








We then went to pull the pots one more time before anchoring up for the night, but 30 seconds before we hooked the buoy I noticed a black spot in the distance. Change of plans. We quickly motored over to an adjacent cove and my son and I paddled to shore while my buddy kept the boat idling offshore. We quickly climbed the short ridge separating us from where we had seen the bear, but he either heard us or caught our scent, as he was nowhere to be found. My son was still smiling from ear to ear, though. Simply having a bear to stalk was ridiculously fun. He definitely has a great perspective on the joy of the hunt rather than needing to be successful to feel satisfied.


That night the boys and I stayed up until midnight playing hearts (for the second night in a row, actually), and as they went to bed they told us to not wake them until we had caught the first fish. Ha! My friend woke me early so that we could troll a bit more while we motored home. We took a quick look up into the bay for bears, then went to pull the pots one last time. For the second time in a row, though, as we were getting ready to pull the buoy aboard I noticed a black spot against a green background. We contemplated for a moment what to do - no bear we had seen thus far had stood still very long, and it would take at least 15 minutes to get over there and to paddle ashore. My kid is like his dad in that he's not a morning person, and they were pretty wiped from three days of fun. I was still going back and forth as to whether I should wake my son when my friend told me that the bear laid down. Done. Decision made.


I quickly woke my son, and though it took him a few moments to emerge from his groggy state, soon we were paddling towards shore once again. As we did so, a humpback surfaced between us and the boat, the sound of it breathing breaking the still quiet of the cool morning air. We once again beached the raft and climbed over a short ridge. It was nearly impossible to see down to the beach where we hoped to find the bear, as the brush was impenetrable. Suddenly we saw a flash of black, followed by a clear look at feet moving towards cover. We couldn't get anything close to a clear look, but obviously the bear was moving away fast. There were two ways he could go - up a creek bottom where we would never see him, or possibly he would climb the opposite hillside and give us a good look. We moved into position in hopes of the latter, and sure enough, within a few moments he emerged from the timber. It worked perfectly - he walked into a clearing and stopped, standing perfectly broadside. I hate rushing other hunters to take a shot, but I made it clear to my son that this was his chance. We've talked at length about only taking shots that you're comfortable with, and I've had proud dad moments where he has passed shots in the past because he just wasn't ready. I felt comfortable putting this choice into his hands. But still, I was caught off guard when his rifle fired. I momentarily lost sight of the bear through my scope and for a second thought that he was gone, but then I saw him roll into a small hole right below where he was standing when my son fired. You could clearly see the air escaping his lungs from the perfectly placed shot that my son had made. Sure enough, he took out both lungs with a single shot from his 7mm-08.











Soon we were paddling back to the boat with a bear, a very satisfied young hunter, and an incredibly proud father. Of course we decided to troll a bit more while we worked on the meat, and wouldn't you know it, we hit a double just a little while later. Ha! Ridiculous.





As my son and I discussed last night, there aren't many weeks that you can be certain that you'll remember and still talk about years from now, but this was definitely such a week. As an added bonus, his brother is turning 10 next month, is almost done with his hunter's ed course, and has a caribou tag for this coming fall. The fun is soon to continue!

[mam90]

What an incredibly wonderful experience for all, even those of us who can only read about it! Thanks for posting this!

[Litecub]

Early season trout from western Alaska. Yes it is as big as it looks!

[Kyle Wolfe]

Had a fun spring in the wood chasing turkeys in more places than I deserve. But the best one was my wife’s recent bird. Gosh they’re fun to hunt!

[WWhunter]

This was the view out my kitchen window a few days ago. Pictures were taken with my phone through the screens so they are pretty grainy.



https://youtu.be/IZxUMQI4n6o

Looking in my bedroom window about 5 feet from me. The one of it standing are 30' from the deck.

[mike mcs repair]

Kinda silly. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/...akes-a-splash/


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[Foggy]

Here's a few pictures from a fishing expedition earlier this summer. Great way to socially distance. Wild brook trout in Northern Maine.

[burchd]

A Great recommendation for a Minnesota float plane destination fishing trip would be Sunset Lodge on Oak Island on the Northwest Angle. Great accommodations and staff.

[Kyle Wolfe]

Wanted to make the Black Hills flyin, but instead messed around in CO and WY. No archery elk this year but did grab a muzzleloader and it seemed to turn out OK!

[scout88305]

[hotrod180]

[QUOTE=scout88305;785715]

[QUOTE]

That is an excellent photo!
Well worthy of a Terry Redlin painting, or a hunting catalog cover.

[Cub Special Ed]

[spinner2]

It has been quiet on this thread lately. Maybe we can keep it going?

This past Saturday was opening day for general season elk rifle hunting in Montana. Friday night we had snow. A lot of snow. 16-17” where I hunt. A record October snow.

My wife and I normally hunt together but the snow and cold changed her mind for the opening. So I went by myself and plowed through the nearly knee high snow looking for elk. I was carrying my new favorite 338 Federal custom rifle. About an hour before dark I found a raghorn bull and the hard hitting 210 Partition bullet dropped him where he stood.



She has a cow permit so once it warms and melts a bit we’ll be out looking for her.

[scout88305]

Nice,, what is the barrel length?

[S2D]

Isn't that almost the same as road kill ????

[Henny]

Some late season smallmouths and Boundary Waters walleye...

[Cub Special Ed]

Isn't that almost the same as road kill ????

Says hunting and fishing. Didnt say eatable. But i supsect with alot of seasoning and bbq mabe in a pinch.

[spinner2]

Nice,, what is the barrel length?

The barrel is 22”. It is a nice lightweight rifle at 7.25 pounds. The 210s leave at 2600 FPS and hit hard. I’ve killed two elk and three bucks with this rifle now and am impressed.

[hotrod180]

make & model?
338 federal makes a lot of sense to me, if you want a big heavy bullet but not an excess of recoil & blast.
Most everything these days (and always) has been about belted cases & maximum charges of slow powder.

[scout88305]

Always liked the 308 case. 358 Win is a favorite of mine as I don't need 200 plus yard shots. 338 is probably the best of both worlds when comparing 308/338/358, I am seeing so many 270 and 300 short mags selling but for white-tail where I hunt it's overkill and depending on shot placement pretty devastating.

[PA-22/20-160]

The 338fed has been my main squeeze for 6years now, hits real hard and is easy to carry in a 6.25lbs package.

[Oliver]

So if your wondering what the wheels on Henny’s boat are all about, I’ll enlighten you:



My nephew and his buddies took me to to their “secret” lake for some walleye fishing in Northern Mn.
obviously, couple beers involved.
https://youtu.be/FoHTrzR_ojw

[spinner2]

make & model?
338 federal makes a lot of sense to me, if you want a big heavy bullet but not an excess of recoil & blast.
Most everything these days (and always) has been about belted cases & maximum charges of slow powder.

This is an all-custom rifle. The action is a Defiance Machine, stock is a McMillan and the barrel is custom too. The scope is a Nightforce.

I've seen a lot of elk killed from the .243 to the 338-378 Wby Mag and in my observation nothing hits harder than a .338. This .338 Federal seems to be just as good as the bigger .338's out to 250 yards or so. And I like the lightweight of this rifle for packing. Recoil is nothing.

[scout88305]

[Kyle Wolfe]

Glad to see your success Eric!

Hot and windy for us in SE MN. I never saw a deer from stand during the weekend, but saw a dandy while bow hunting last Friday. Close but never cleared the brush.

Becky saw just this one buck.



I’m off to Co next week with a coveted 4th season mile deer rag in my pocket. We’ll see how that turns out!

[hotrod180]

I've always liked full stocked (aka "mannlicher stock") rifles.
What is that, and what caliber?
I wanted to say a Ruger 77, but the safety is wrong--
a commercial Mauser maybe?

[scout88305]

This is a Husqvarna (Swedish) company model 456 Mannlicher in 3006. The 458 is the high comb stock. I had a .270 Husky once and sold it which I regret. It shot tighter groups. Full length wood stocks probably not the best for accuracy or getting wet but my shots are not very far in the big Minnesota woods. Tradewinds was a company that imported these back in the 50-60's probably. Action is a Mauser 98 with controlled round feeding. They are quality.

[jiffy pop]

Nice buck Eric, should be some tasty venison bacon from that one.

[skywagon8a]

[kase]

My son shot this deer yesterday. 25-06 425 yards

[Litecub]

A few pictures from this years fishing trips. Mainly after rainbow trout on Spey rods fly fishing.

[Kyle Wolfe]

Found this guy last week in Colorado. Spent a LONG time building preference points and figured I better go while I can. Neat rut hunt, but something colder than 60 degrees at 9,000 feet would’ve been welcome.

[Utah-Jay]

We have flown from KHCR to 33U the past two Friday’s to fish the Green River (Flaming Gorge)

Seems a few are sideways

[Litecub]

We were lucky in our timing and hit the vanguard of the crane migration in Delta, Alaska this September. No travel this fall for annual pheasant hunt so this was it for birds this year.

Kyle;
Really nice mule deer- Congrats!
Cheers;
Bob

[scout88305]

Upper Red Lake has between 3-7" ice so a few thousand fishermen showed up despite the open water and cracks. I liked the warmth and safety of the Scout.