Early Season Bowfishing

This last week we had one of the nicest days yet in the year with temperature in the low 60’s so me and my friend Matt decided to take the canoe down the river. Matt only had about two and a half hours to do our small trip,

so we picked out a 2.5-mile stretch of the Mullet River to go down. When we made the decision to do this stretch of the river we knew that it wouldn't take the full two and a half hours for us to take the trip. I knew that my Matt had never been bowfishing before so I thought that it would be a good chance to introduce him to it. So I grabbed my bowfishing bow, and we headed out to the river.

When we got to the river we loaded up the canoe and started out down the river. I had my Matt sit in the front of the canoe with the bow so that he would have the best opportunity for a shot. The river is still high from the snow melt and spring rain which mad it easy for us to navigate the river. When we would get to spots where the river had slower moving water I had Matt stand up and get ready to shoot.

Soon we had the dust trails of carp going everywhere. Matt Started taking shots at the carp with no success, but he was getting excited. Soon all the carp had fled from the area we were in so we continued down the river. Not to far down stream we got into some more but with no success. He was getting closer to hitting them but not close enough.

As we continued down the river we continued to have shooting but had yet to have the arrow make contact with a fish. As we were getting close to our take out point I was start to worry if Matt was going to get one that day. But then it happened the arrow finally made contact with a fish. With the fish fighting at one end of the line and Matt pulling it in from the other end, it was a great time and a great way to end the day.

Boat Licenses

Shoot Straight,

Caleb

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again A Summer Day

For the last several days here in Wisconsin it has been in the low 40’s and raining, not the best snow conditions for winter sports. Snowmobiling had a pretty good couple of weeks but lack of new snow for the trails slowly ended that, and the rain ruined whatever snow base we had left.

Ice fishing has been mostly unaffected by the warmth, besides having a mess on top of the ice. The ice has is still a good 15-18 inches thick. From what I have herd is that the fishing has been slow for the last week or so.

I don’t know much about other outdoor activities right now so I am going to end this here. The weather is supposed to start cooling off tonight but there is no snow in the forecast right now.

Good Hunting,

Caleb

I messed up

On Wednesday afternoon I went out bow hunting. My stand is only about 70 yards away from the property line of the property where the potential world record typical deer was taken last week. I was out for about 15 minutes when a nice heavy racked 10 pointer came and walked to about 15 yard from my stand I grunted to make it stop and let the arrow fly.

But like I said I messed up, I put my 20 yard pin right on the deer and the deer was at 15 yards. Normally that wouldn’t have made much of a difference, because my bow shoots about three inches high at 15 yards with my 20 yard pin at a target that is at the same height, but I was 20 feet higher than the deer when I shot, so when I shot the deer I hit it just under the spine.

The deer ran about 20 yards and then started to walk so I started to grunt to see if I could get it to stop again so that I could get another arrow in him, but he didn’t stop. So I watched him walk off. And then I heard something right behind me so I looked back and there was a really nice 8 pointer. I must have called him in while trying to get the other one to stop. He walked right under me and then walked off.

I waited a half hour before I got out of my stand to fined the blood trail and see how hard he was bleeding. When I found the blood trail it was just as heavy as the last deer I shot and I shot that one through both lungs and the heart. So I was really hoping I had a good hit. I went back to my stand and called my dad and he came out to help track. By the time we started to fallow the blood trail it was two hours since I had shot it. We started to follow the blood trail slowly so that if he was bedded down we could hopefully sneak up on him if he was still alive.

The blood trail was really heavy for the first 200 yards and than started to slow. We trailed him for just under a mile when came to ware he came to a river. And we could not pick up on the trail any ware on the other side of the river. What we think happened was that he laid down in the river just long enough to stop the bleeding, and go on his way and find somewhere to lay down and most likely die.

Good Hunting,

Caleb

My First Bow Deer

"I placed my sight pin accordingly and I let the arrow fly"

On Saturday I went out bow hunting for the second time this year. I got out to my stand at about 2:00 pm. The woods where quiet until 4:00 and then a group of two bucks and four does came through the woods. They where around for about 15 minutes before finely heading on their way. For the rest of the day deer kept filtering their way through the woods. I even had a porcupine (which I have never seen here before) came through the woods.

And at 7:00 I finely had a doe came into bow range in a pretty good clear part of the woods, but it had its vitals behind a tree. So I held my bow at full draw until the deer walked out from behind the tree. I estimated the yardage at 30 yards, and when the deer walked out from behind the tree, I placed my sight pin accordingly and I let the arrow fly. Since hunting hours on Saturday closed at 7:13 it was pretty dark by the time I shot it, so when I shot, I saw the lighted nock on my arrow fly through the air, hit the deer and then come out the other side.

After I shot it I watched it run off and sat in my in stand for 20 minutes so I would not jump the deer if it where close by. Then I got out of my stand and found my arrow because it had the lighted nock. The arrow was nice and soaked with blood. Since I forgot to bring a flashlight when I went out to my stand, I went back to my truck to see if I had a flashlight in it, on the way back I saw 5 more deer; all together I saw 16 deer total. When I got to my truck it did not have a flashlight in it, so I went home for a flashlight and some supper.

I went back out at 8:30 with a friend to look for it. We went to where I shot the deer and found blood right away, so we started to follow the blood trail. The trail was easy to follow as there was a pretty steady trail of blood. Then we found it only about 40 yards from where I shot it. When we got there I found that the arrow hit right where I had intended for it to, since the deer was quartering away I placed the arrow behind the ribs so that it would angle up into the chest cavity, so that it would have the biggest wound channel in the vital area as possible. Then we took some pictures, and then gutted it. When gutting it I found that I got both lungs and the heart when I shot it. Then on Sunday we cut it up and put it in the freezer

This is not the first deer I shot with the bow, but it is the first one I have recovered. Last year I shot I nice big 8 pointer. It laid down 3 times after I shot it then I trailed for 3 ½ miles and lost the trail. I spent several hours trying to pick up the trail again but was never able to. I know this one is not a very big deer but it was a yearling which makes the best eating.

I'll be having some for supper tonight.

Good Hunting,

Caleb

Bow Season is Finely Here

Yesterday was the opening day of Wisconsin’s bow deer season. I went out in the afternoon because I had to work in the morning. I got out to my stand at about 2:00pm.

After I got out to my stand it was quiet until about 3:00, and then 5 squirrels started to run all around and play, I even had one fox squirrel clime on halfway onto the seat of my treestand. At about 4:00 a raccoon walked thru and all the squirrels ran off, and then about ten minuets later a red fox walked thru and while I was watching it, it walked right past a deer.

At first I couldn’t tell whether or not it was a buck or a doe but as the deer came closer and more out of the brush I could see that it was a doe. A doe is what I wanted to put some meat in the freezer, I wasn’t going to shoot a buck unless it was a huge buck, and I know that there are some around I have seen a couple nice 10 pointers around and there is at least one 12 pointer around. That doe came within 40 yards but never came out of the brush enough to give me a shot.

That doe hung around for about a half hour and then walked off. It wasn’t long after that one left that five more deer came in. there were 3 adult does and 2 yearling does. They all came within 40 yards one even came to about 20 yards, but I was never presented with a opportunity to take a shot that I was shore that I could have a clean kill. They walked around the woods eating until about 5:30. And then the squirrels came back but there were about 15 of them, and I hunted until 6:00 because I had to be some ware by 6:30. All and all it was a awesome opening day of bow seoson.

Time to Dust Off that Shotgun and Get Ready for Goose Season

With goose hunting in Wisconsin starting September 1^st, its time to get out that shotgun and do some practice. Practice can make the difference between cleanly killing and harvesting a bird, and crippling one, or even missing all together.

I know that you have probably been shooting trap all summer, but you need to shoot at different angles from different positions. This will help you recognize different situations in the field and how to react to it.

If you hunt over decoys, it’s a good idea to set up your decoys and have the clays set so they land in the decoy spread like they are geese landing into your decoys. One thing to remember is that pieces of broken clay are going to be flying around, so I am going to say, do not do this without safety glasses. It will also be good Idea to not set up your good decoys because pieces of broken clay can damage your decoys. This can be vary fun and great practice if you do it right.

Practicing from your blind in your full hunting gear so you get use to the feel and positions you use when you hunt. This is probably the most important thing to do when practicing your shooting for your hunt.

Patrice at home before the season opens is a good idea because you cripple fewer birds, and it cheaper to practice at home with trap load and clay targets that cost $0.23 a shell, than in the field shooting at geese with shells that cost $1.00 a shell.

Polls are Closed

On the 1st the poll What is your favorite kind of fresh water fish to fish for? Closed. There where 5 votes thank you for everybody that voted, and here are the results.

Walleye- 2 (40%)

Northern- 0 (0%)

Musky- 0 (0%)

Trout- 0 (0%)

Small Mouth Bass- 1 (20%)

Large Mouth Bass- 1 (20%)

Salmon- 0 (0%)

Pan Fish- 1 (20%)

Crappie- 0 (0%)

Other- 0 (0%)


This month’s poll is What is what is the kind of hunting your most looking forward to?