I did it! I finally accomplished a goal that I have had for many, many years. To ice fish the majestic Blind Lake! And might I add-it was not easy!!! Without much information about snow level or accessibility, Phil, Zeng, and myself headed down to my Dad's place late Friday night. We woke up the next morning, loaded up, and we were on our way. Our hopes were diminished somewhat by a local fisherman telling us that there was a big tree down on the way to Blind and that nobody had been in this year. Even with the bad news we were not going to be stopped. About half way up the road that leads to the trailhead we unloaded Zenger's snowmobiles and took off. Life was good, the trail was easy to follow, and all was well (other than Z's sled tipping over once) until we reached the parking lot. There were no tracks of any kind headed up to the lake. We were obviously the only fools that had attempted this in 2008. Zenger went out ahead and found a way to the top of intial hill. Phil and I soon found out that we were very unexperienced snowmobilers. The powder was deep and the trail was rocky. If it weren't for Zenger's experience, I have no doubt that we wouldn't have made it! But we pressed forward and after burying the snowmobiles several times and hearing a few choice words from Z- We made it! The view was breathtaking! There is something about being at a lake that no one else has been at for quite some time. Especially in the middle of the Winter. After making our way out to our favorite float tubing spot, I drilled the first hole. About 24 inches of ice was beneath us. This was quite a relief to Phil, who could now relax and put his ice spikes away. My first hole was in 9.6 ft of water. It didn't take long before I had a hit. I calmly waited and set the hook. I secretly prayed that the fish I was reeling in wasn't a rainbow and sure enough my prayers were answered. I pulled a beautiful Brook Trout out of the hole and it was on. To make a long story short, we caught several nice brookies, some small cutts, and a few nice bows. The final was Zenger 10, Myself 7, and Phil 6. But to be honest catching fish was a bonus. It was unreal just being there. After fishing from about 11-3, we decided that we better get out of there, just in case the ride out was as tough as the ride in. It turned out to be much easier and we were to the truck by 4:15. After reaching the truck I looked back up at the Boulder Rim and realized what we had just done- It made us all feel a little more manly (other than the fact that I suck at riding snowmobiles).
Later that night we ventured out to the Parker to shoot a few bunnies. It was nearly dark and bitter cold when we reached the mountain, but we made the best of it. Zenger had a scope on his 22-250 and was plucking rabbits off left and right, including a monster Snowshoe Hare that he destroyed with one shot. The night did not end up on a positive note though. A fox darted across the road in front of us, and perched itself on a rock. This rock was no more than 20 yards ahead of us and I had a perfect shot. I only had my .22 in hand so I let Zenger shoot and unfortunately he missed. All I can say is that that fox had a higher powere looking out for him. That or Zenger had a little fox fever!!! It was a short trip, but one that will always be remembered and never forgotten.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Welcome to my Blog- 1st Entry!
The idea of having a hunting and fishing journal came to me a couple of years ago. I got tired of going on a trip, taking no pictures, and coming home with only memories! I began by keeping track of my trips on Microsoft Word, but that only lasted so long. Basically, I gave up. That is until I found out about this blogging thing from my cousin Chris. He is an avid fisherman that created a blog to keep track of all his many expeditions. (www.duncsfishingadventures.blogspot.com)
Immediately, I knew that I needed to create one so that I had a place to put stories, pictures, and records of all my many journeys into the great outdoors. For my first blog I figured that I ought to explain where I stand in 2008, as far as the outdoors is concerned. I will start with hunting: In 2005, my buddies (Phil and Z) and myself started the Dedicated Hunter Program. This allowed us to hunt all three seasons (archery, muzzleloader, and rifle), as long as we only killed 2 deer in three seasons. In return we provided 24 service hours to the fish and game. For my hours, I taught a wildlife merit badge class and conducted fish surveys up at Spanish Oaks Reservoir. Our first year we weren't able to use our Dedicated tags because we all drew out on the archery-Vernon unit. It was a blast- we learned the area quickly and had many opportunities (1 that I won't write about due to the terrible pain it would cause me). After a grueling hunt and several shots, we all came up short-no kills. In our defense, the area is very difficult to hunt with a bow and the success rate is pretty low. Anyway the following year we mainly hunted up Hobble Creek. Our primary focus was the Muzzleloader Hunt. We spent all our hunting days in the Middle Fork of Bartholomew's Canyon. It was sweet! Everyday we were up there we had the place to ourselves. It paid off on an overcast morning when Z and I stalked a couple of good bucks that were headed into the chicken coop. After missing on several shots, we wandered up the mountain and ran right into the big sucker. Zenger saw him first, turned, and shot like a duck had just flown off the pond, and the large buck rolled right to our feet. Later that year, on my last day of the rifle hunt, after working my butt off for several weeks, Phil and I ran into a nice 4-point off the side of road that heads into Bartholomew's. I shot it, we called Z for a little help hauling it out of there, and the hunt was over. It was a great year of hunting. Last year, 2007, was our last year in the program. We decided that we were ready for something new. I talked Phil and Z into switching to the Southern region so that we could hunt down in Wayne County. We took a scouting trip in July or August and found that there were no deer down there and that we needed a new plan. That's when the Lord stepped in and provided us with an answer. Phil's cousin has been hunting down by Enterprise for many years and he talked Phil into giving it a chance. We had no better plan, so without even scouting we headed down to the unknown area late one night. The next morning was unbelievable! I saw more deer that day than I had seen in the previous 3 years combined. We were stoked! We geared up for the muzzlelaoder hunt. I met Phil and Z down there and we hunted for a few days. The area is sweet, but many people hunt it on the muzzleloader, so we were a little bummed. Things turned out pretty good though. I killed a small 4-point, and an unknown hunter killed another 2 by 3 on the archery hunt that year. The good news is that we saw several really nice bucks and are very exited about the years to come in our new found country!
On to FISHING: This I will keep fairly short. Basically, Strawberry has been my primary target for the last several years. The fishing has been solid and the lake typically produces several 2 -2 1/2 lb. Cutts. Occasionally, one of us will reel in one between 3-5 lbs. but in the fall of '07 Z caught a monster- we used a small scale and it was 6-6 1/2 lbs. It's about time one of us caught a monster. On a good day of drifting with a jig, we would catch 20 plus fish. We have also taken several trips down to the Boulder Mountains and had mixed success. I look forward to posting some good Brookie pictures in the future. My next trip is our first ever ice fishing expedition down to the Boulders. It should be fun!
Immediately, I knew that I needed to create one so that I had a place to put stories, pictures, and records of all my many journeys into the great outdoors. For my first blog I figured that I ought to explain where I stand in 2008, as far as the outdoors is concerned. I will start with hunting: In 2005, my buddies (Phil and Z) and myself started the Dedicated Hunter Program. This allowed us to hunt all three seasons (archery, muzzleloader, and rifle), as long as we only killed 2 deer in three seasons. In return we provided 24 service hours to the fish and game. For my hours, I taught a wildlife merit badge class and conducted fish surveys up at Spanish Oaks Reservoir. Our first year we weren't able to use our Dedicated tags because we all drew out on the archery-Vernon unit. It was a blast- we learned the area quickly and had many opportunities (1 that I won't write about due to the terrible pain it would cause me). After a grueling hunt and several shots, we all came up short-no kills. In our defense, the area is very difficult to hunt with a bow and the success rate is pretty low. Anyway the following year we mainly hunted up Hobble Creek. Our primary focus was the Muzzleloader Hunt. We spent all our hunting days in the Middle Fork of Bartholomew's Canyon. It was sweet! Everyday we were up there we had the place to ourselves. It paid off on an overcast morning when Z and I stalked a couple of good bucks that were headed into the chicken coop. After missing on several shots, we wandered up the mountain and ran right into the big sucker. Zenger saw him first, turned, and shot like a duck had just flown off the pond, and the large buck rolled right to our feet. Later that year, on my last day of the rifle hunt, after working my butt off for several weeks, Phil and I ran into a nice 4-point off the side of road that heads into Bartholomew's. I shot it, we called Z for a little help hauling it out of there, and the hunt was over. It was a great year of hunting. Last year, 2007, was our last year in the program. We decided that we were ready for something new. I talked Phil and Z into switching to the Southern region so that we could hunt down in Wayne County. We took a scouting trip in July or August and found that there were no deer down there and that we needed a new plan. That's when the Lord stepped in and provided us with an answer. Phil's cousin has been hunting down by Enterprise for many years and he talked Phil into giving it a chance. We had no better plan, so without even scouting we headed down to the unknown area late one night. The next morning was unbelievable! I saw more deer that day than I had seen in the previous 3 years combined. We were stoked! We geared up for the muzzlelaoder hunt. I met Phil and Z down there and we hunted for a few days. The area is sweet, but many people hunt it on the muzzleloader, so we were a little bummed. Things turned out pretty good though. I killed a small 4-point, and an unknown hunter killed another 2 by 3 on the archery hunt that year. The good news is that we saw several really nice bucks and are very exited about the years to come in our new found country!
On to FISHING: This I will keep fairly short. Basically, Strawberry has been my primary target for the last several years. The fishing has been solid and the lake typically produces several 2 -2 1/2 lb. Cutts. Occasionally, one of us will reel in one between 3-5 lbs. but in the fall of '07 Z caught a monster- we used a small scale and it was 6-6 1/2 lbs. It's about time one of us caught a monster. On a good day of drifting with a jig, we would catch 20 plus fish. We have also taken several trips down to the Boulder Mountains and had mixed success. I look forward to posting some good Brookie pictures in the future. My next trip is our first ever ice fishing expedition down to the Boulders. It should be fun!
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