Steelhead Duo!!

Early this February (2015), Aidan and I decided to try our hand at a relatively new (to us) adventure--steelhead fishing. We chose to fish the Mad River somewhere east of Highway 101.  About 3 hours into our second outing, we hooked into a nice 7-8 pound, 28" hatchery steelhead.  After a spirited fight lasting a few minutes, Aidan successfully landed the fish (a hen filled with roe).  Aidan's big grin says it all!

 

 

 

The Mad River is found in upper Northern California where it flows for 113 miles through Trinity and Humboldt Counties before draining into the Pacific Ocean north of Arcata.  The Mad River Hatchery is located east of the small hamlet of Blue Lake.  Wild/native steelhead may only be caught and released, but anglers are currently allowed to keep two hatchery steelhead (easily identified by their clipped adipose fins).  Barbless hooks are required.  The steelhead in this river average around 8-12 pounds I've been told though bigger fish are caught. 

 

Aidan and I returned to our favored fishing spot about a week later.  I hooked a big, silver (fresh) native steelhead about an hour into our excursion (using a hand tied yarn ball).  This one was much larger than the one Aidan landed. I estimated its weight at well over 10 pounds.  It fought me for a good 30 minutes (on 8 lb. test line) before I was finally able to land the beauty. After a quick photo, I released it back into the river.  I've caught fish from Loreto, Mexico to southern Alaska but this may have been my most cherished catch. 

 

 

Riley's First Buck!!!

This year my primary blacktail deer hunting focus has been a quest to get my 12 and 13 year old sons their first bucks...not an easy task for public land hunting in Northern California. I took a week off of work for an opening weekend hunting trip with my 12 year old, Caleb. We had a great bonding time, some fun adventures, but alas no opportunities for a legal buck.

Accompanied by my 10 year old son Aidan a couple of weeks later, I harvested a little forked horn buck. This was a special experience to share with my younger son but I was also a little disappointed one of my older ones wasn't there to take advantage of the opportunity to shoot their first buck.

I'd made plans for a 4-day season finale hunt with my oldest son, Riley (13), for this weekend. We were set to stay at a cabin on a close family friend's private property in Mendocino County. However, a work issue arose unexpectedly this Monday and I had to cancel our plans. I woke up late Thursday morning to find it was raining hard. A storm with substantial rainfall was forecast for the next couple of days so I spontaneously decided to take one of my older boys on a day hunt out in the mountains about two hours from our coastal home.  Caleb graciously deferred to his older brother, so Riley and I left town around 9:00 am.

It started raining so hard I thought more than once about turning around and heading back home for the comfort of a good book by a warm fire in my den. To make matters more interesting, I discovered to my great chagrin that my windshield was leaking. Water was literally running down the inside of the windshield and dripping through the dash onto the driver's floorboard.  One can't shoot a buck from your couch though (at least not in my neighborhood) so we pressed on.

When we hit our general hunting area, we immediately found the heavy, persistent rain had the deer up and moving outside their normal daytime pattern. We spotted 4 spikes and numerous does within a relatively small area. At about 1:45 pm, we were traveling along a graveled forrest service road when we spotted 3 deer in the trees about 25 yards in front of and above us. One was a doe and another a tall spike buck. I stopped to glass the 3rd one and immediately saw he was a nice, plump 2x2 forked horn buck.

I told Riley, "It's a buck!" and to shoot it. As he moved into position and chambered a round, the deer walked further up the hill into the woods. I stood still, watching as Riley took over. My job was done and now it was up to him as he followed alone after the deer. My heart was pounding as I saw Riley throw the rifle to his shoulder a short time later, steady himself, aim and fire. He assessed his first shot and took a second. For a moment I was worried he might have missed as he was shooting at a moving buck in timber in the pouring rain.

My worry changed to elation as Riley turned toward me and excitedly exclaimed, "I got him!" I ran forward and arrived by his side just in time to see the buck expire behind a tree about 35 yards further up the hill from our location.

I could not be prouder of my son or more thrilled to have shared this amazing experience with him. I unexpectedly lost my own father, Mark, a year ago this November. Two weeks before he died, dad took me on an elk hunt that I will fondly remember and cherish forever. My father took me into the the woods each fall to go buck hunting. He taught me how to safely and competently use firearms, navigate the woods, and hunt for game. My dad imparted in me a great passion and respect for all things outdoors--hunting, fishing, camping etc. and I am committed to passing this legacy on to my children and grandchildren too.

 My son's first little buck might not be a monster for the record books, but it will always be a world class trophy in both of our hearts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Father-Son First Turkey Tandem

Caleb and I went wild turkey hunting this past fall (November 2014) in Trinity County. Being newbie turkey stalkers, we'd been unsuccessful during the spring season but had such a great time we became hooked. 

Note: During California's fall wild turkey season, you can harvest both toms (males) and hens (females) unlike in the spring when only bearded birds are legal.

Caleb and I were heading to our hunting area where we were planning to set up a blind and try to call in some birds.  Shortly after entering a small valley, I spotted a gang of turkeys feeding in a sloped meadow off to our right. (Yes, the proper term for a group of turkeys is a "gang" or a "rafter." Fortunately we were armed and prepared to defend ourselves... :-).  I handed my son his Remington 870 youth model 20 gauge and told him to try to stalk closer while using a large bush to conceal his movements.  My job was done and I could only watch and hope I'd trained him well enough to get it done.

Caleb crept about 50 feet closer to the turkeys using the bush as concealment as far as he could. I thought he was waiting too long as the turkeys were picking up speed as they began to move away. Caleb later told me he had to wait for a clear shot so he didn't inadvertently hit more than one bird.  I saw him take the shot at about 25-30 yards and watched a hen go down. He yelled, "I got one." I hurried up to Caleb and he handed me the shotgun. I then took off up the hill to the right where I'd seen two of the turkeys go after branching off from the rest of the gang. I was able to take a clean shot from about 40 yards at the trailing hen. The hen went down and in a space of under a minute we had each harvested our ever first wild turkeys!  It was an amazing experience to share with my son...something we will both remember and cherish for a lifetime.

 

Fall Buck Hunting with Caleb

I took my 12-year-old son Caleb on week-long blacktail deer hunting trip following opening weekend this past September (2014).  While Caleb didn't get a shot at a buck this year, we had an great time together riding the back trails on our Honda ATV at the "ranch", exploring "Rat Trap Gap", meeting new friends (thanks for the adventure and hospitality Bob), and enjoying some looong "hikes" (code for wearing out boot leather with no deer to show for it).

We're both looking forward to another big deer hunting adventure together this coming fall.  While an opportunity for my son to harvest his first buck would have been nice, spending time together in the great outdoors is the real gift.

 

A Father-Son Buck

My 10-year-old son, Aidan, and I traveled to Trinity County this past Friday (October 2014) for an overnight hunting trip. After setting up camp, we headed out for an evening hunt with a relatively short hike into our hunting area planned. On the way to our hunting spot, I decided to stop by a little valley where over the years I'd consistently seen a lot of deer. We spotted this little 2 x 2 forked-horn buck feeding in the open within seconds of arriving. I closed the deal with a single approximately 50 yard uphill shot.

I was thrilled to share this experience with Aidan, who was so excited "we got a buck!" After field dressing our deer, we headed back to camp where I skinned him out and we recounted the story around the campfire.