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Yeah, I know it’s time to put away the boat, poles and fishing tackle, but some times it’s just be to keep fishing, right?
But fall can be a challenging time to be on the water. The weather can be unpredicable and at times the fish can be uncooperating.
October is traditionally the opener for pheasant hunting around the country, and I can’t wait!
But to get a jump on things, Pheasants Forever published an article on what you should be doing in preperation for the 2008 pheasant hunting season.
They include:
I saw two things today out pronghorn hunting that made me wonder how it is we have any land left to hunt.
First, I saw a skinned animal, minus a head, lying in a non-posted field. Some idiot had shot what I was guessing was a buck pronghorn, caped it out on the spot, and left the body to rot less than 200 yards from the road. This took place Friday night or early Saturday morning, as I was in the area around 5pm Friday night, and around 10am Saturday morning.
Less than an hour later, I saw a white pickup driving through a field with two hunters, I mean criminals, in it. They were too far away to get a license, and when they saw me stopped, they high-tailed it off the land and out of the area.
Both of these took place NW of Scranton, ND. Click HERE for a map location of the crimes.
I know that whoever did either of these indiscretions won’t be affected by me posting them here because they can’t read (at least a proclamation) and probably don’t think they did anything wrong, but if I can ask the rest of you to take a few moments and think of the hunting community as a whole before you do something stupid.
The anti-hunters and some landowners are just looking for this type of behavior to give them a reason to reduce your sporting opportunities. The skinned pronghorn was lying on some property that is traditionally posted for deer season, but the landowner has always allowed my hunting party and others access. Things like this could significantly jeapordize access to this great piece of land.
Play by the rules, bag your game in a safe, sporting manner, and support the heritage and opportunity provided by the state of North Dakota and the generous landowners who allow us access, and all of us will be better off.
As for the guys who did this? I’m taking my video camera with from now on, and if I see it happen again, video evidence will be used in a court of law.
Sorry for the long rant, but I had to get this out. If anyone has more details on who may have committed these crimes, please report them to the proper authorities.
In North Dakota contact R.A.P. (Report All Poachers) at 1-800-472-2121.
I usually don’t get too riled up by advertising. I am a businessman, and know that stretching the truth a little is common.
But this new XBox 360 ad for Cabela’s Grand Slam Hunting is just horrible.
What the hell is Cabela’s thinking? Their whole business model is to keep outdoorsmen happy. Why would you depict deer hunters as some broken-grilled hillbilly who stalks a goat, and gets shot while mimicking deer antlers with sticks?
Anti-hunters just LOVE stuff like this. They point to the tv and say, “See? Those damn rednecks are just crazy? And just look how dangerous hunting is!”
Cabela’s, you really sold out to the XBox people on this one, and it’s tainting your brand. I currently don’t own a 360, and if I did, this commercial would make me NOT want to buy this product, and now even think twice about shopping in your stores.
Here’s the commercial. What are your thoughts?
UPDATE : Cabela’s management is claiming that the commercial is a fake! I can only hope it’s true.
There’s a great article this month at In-Fisherman.com concerning Speed Trolling for Walleyes.
Speed trolling is just as it sounds… blasting through cover, bumping into logs and weeds, and bouncing plugs off the bottom at a higher than average rate of speed.
The results are two-fold. You find out what the contour of the water is, and you catch fish.
Check out the full article HERE.
One of North Dakota’s most outspoken advocates for hunters and fishermen is Doug Leier. Doug is very involved with broadcasting and publishing the news and information that the North Dakota Game and Fish want out, and the outdoorsmen need.
Recently Doug published an article outlining his frustration with the lack of concern over clean water and air, something we take for granted in North Dakota. His article was very inciteful, and took some well-deserved shots at politicians and special interest groups.
Check out Doug Leier’s article here, and visit OutdoorNewsGuy.com for more of his excellent writing and broadcasting.
Tomorrow afternoon at 12:00pm, the gun (pun intended) goes off on the 2008 North Dakota pronghorn rifle season. Approximately 5,000 hopeful hunters will enter the field in search for that trophy buck for which they’ve waited so long.
I’ll be in that group for the first time ever. After applying for years, I was finally drawn for my first “any pronghorn” tag in the states tight lottery.
And it’s the most excited I’ve been for a hunt in years. I still get anxious for the deer opener, and my dog Tucker and I shake uncontrollably on the morning of the pheasant opener, but this is different.
I’ve been doing more scouting, sighting in of the rifle, research on the internet, and dreaming of antelope hunting than I’ve ever done for deer or pheasant. I’m absolutely positive, at least in my mind, that I won’t shoot at anything short of a 13” pronghorn, even though I know “ground shrinkage” is very common with pronghorns.
So I’m making last-minute preperations for my gear and buying the food for tomorrow’s start. And I’m not expecting to get much sleep tonight as I dream about sneaking across the prairie towards that monster buck, still ½ mile across open grassland.
So stay tuned Blast & Casters. I plan on documenting as much of the hunt as possible on Twitter, in part to laugh at my thoughts as I look back, but also to provide some insight into an eager first-timer out seeking that trophy pronghorn.
Hey guys. Just a quick note about licenses, both in-state and out-of-state.
I just spent 45 minutes in line at Scheels Sports in Bismarck because there was a line of out-of-state hunters purchasing waterfowl licenses. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the lure of ND wildlife and the economic boost that all of you are bringing here.
But, North Dakota has one of the best online licensing systems I’ve heard about. It’s quick, easy, and will let you print, or even download, your license immediately. That means you can print multiple copies and store one in the vehicle, one in the tackle box or ammo box, and keep on in a wallet or checkbook.
Why spend nearly a half-hour in line at your favorite store filling out paper forms and licking stickers when you can just be ready to hunt before you even leave for our great state.
You probably took some time online to research your hunt in ND, and probably even booked the trip in part online. Make full use of the technology next year and purchase the license at http://gf.nd.gov, or click here to go direct to the North Dakota Game & Fish online license purchasing site.
Funny story.
Last night I sat down at my computer and started writing an article about using Google Maps to enhance my hunting. I was even going to go as far as producing a quick video that showed everyone how to use and save the maps for later. I still might do that, but as I often do, my mind wandered and I wandered over to FishingBuddy.com.
And what did I see? An article by Nick Simonson entitled, “Our Outdoors: Google Helps Advance Hunting Maps.”
So I read it, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t seem that Nick was sitting next to me while I was typing my article. He captured just about everything I did, and made the points I was going to make almost in the same order. Scary.
So, in the interest of not clogging up the internet with more articles about the same thing, I’ll invite you to wander over to FishingBuddy.com and check out Nick’s article.
There is a God. I don’t know what religion he is worshiped by, or who he favors in the world, but there he is definitely there.
How do I know this? October.
October is special in different ways to everyone.
On one hand, it’s when the blazing heat of summer gives way to cool, refreshing, breezes. The foliage turns brilliant shades of red, yellow and orange that offset the still-green lawns and prairies.
It’s when sports fans are treated to Friday night high school football. The MLB playoffs fire up in a race towards the World Series, NASCAR drives towards crowning a champion, and football is in mid-season form and fans are either cheering their team or rooting against their rivals. The NHL and the NBA seasons are also launching new campaigns, and the rounds of golf are drawing to a close.
Television junkies are treated to new seasons of their favorite shows, and the fall movie season starts with with Oscar contenders and scary movies all showing up on the screens at the same time.
For still others it’s a return to school, and a renewal of friendships that only seem to be fostered when faced with the common enemy of the school administration. It’s the culmination of months of political campaigning for those seeking public office, not to mention an end to the political noise for the rest of us.
But for me, and many like me, October is the perfect month to be outdoors. The already mentioned weather is cool, crisp, and maybe a bit unpredictable. The sweet smell of freshly fallen leaves and harvested crops linger in the air, and the occasional snowflake can find its way into a late-night or early-morning shower while fog lifts off rivers and lakes.
And for the fisherman, it’s a last chance to get the boat onto the water and catch fish that, at least in the northern climates, are gorging on what’s left of bait fish in preparation for the long, iced-over winter. Bass and northern pike are ravenous and strike with vicious force, and the walleye and perch are just plain hungry.
Gas stations and rifle ranges become gathering places of sort for hopeful hunters, as stories are told about trophies that are already mounted on walls in the minds of the hunters. Already underway, waterfowl, upland game, furbearers and just about every sort of archery season hits full stride.
My wife just laughs at my impatience with August and September. Her entertainment is watching television and reading books in the comfort of her beautiful house, so she just doesn’t get the lure of October and all of its gifts.
I just smile, and grab my fishing pole, my shotgun, a rifle, and a camera, and at night a frosty beverage and the remote control, and strap in for the best 31 days on the calendar.
