Fish and Pheasants

Check out my new Pop's Hobby Blog photo.  I caught this steelhead on the Trinity River in October, right after Steve Coffman and I got back from our Colorado hunting trip.  The funny thing about this photo is: now I know where I lost my forcepts.  You can see them laying on the rocks in this photo.  There is not much of a chance that they will still be there when we go back on Friday.  

Rob and I went Pheasant hunting last Wednesday on his hunting club on Seven Mile Lane.  Rob had eight birds planted in a rice check and we killed six, lost one and one got away clean.  Not bad for a bunch of old farts.   Tom's dog did a great job but Sam needs to get in shape and loose some weight.  Like father, like dog, I guess.  

Hope to have more photos of steelhead next week.  Stay tuned.

The Big One

Everyone probably has heard that the DFG has closed our section of the Sacramento River to Salmon fishing this year.  So with that said, check out this story that ran in the Red Bluff Daily News today:

Big one didn t get away

By JULIE ZEEB -DN Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 11/06/2008 07:20:29 AM PST

BATTLE CREEK Last Thursday was anything but a normal work day for Doug Killam, an associate fisheries biologist for the Department of Fish and Games Red Bluff office.

I was doing a walking survey in Battle Creek to estimate the fall run, Killam said.

What Killam and the rest of his crew didn’t know was that an extremely large and very dead fish awaited them in the creek, located along the border of Shasta and Tehama counties leading to Coleman National Fish Hatchery.

This one was just big, Killam said. It caught everyone s attention.

Largest Chinook I’ve seen.

Killam and his crew used the length and girth of the fish, about 51 inches or a little more than 4 feet long, to estimate the size at 85 pounds, he said.

It s a shame we didn’t see it while it was alive, Killam said.

If it was caught in the ocean, it would have been a state record, maybe even a world record.

The state record was set by O.H. Lindberg on Nov. 21, 1979, when he landed an 88-pound Chinook in the Shasta area, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.

The world record 97 pounds, but Killam isn’t certain about the exact size of the fish prior to its death.

When we find them as carcasses, typically, they’ve stopped eating months ago, Killam said.

Killam estimated the fish had stopped eating about June or July, made the trip from the ocean to the creek, spawned sometime in October and died about a week before it was found, he said.

The fish was not put on a scale due to its size and the formula for measuring by girth and length is not exact because sometimes those formulas aren’t designed for extreme fish like this one, Killam said.

The average Chinook salmon returning to spawn is about 25 pounds, said Scott Hamelberg, project leader for Coleman National Fish Hatchery.

It was a big fish, Hamelberg said. I’ve never seen an 80-pound Chinook come through Coleman Fish Hatchery in my years here, but we get the whole range.

The biggest to swim through Coleman this year at fall run was a 53- pounder, he said.

There s any variety of size, Hamelberg said.

It s largely due to the genetics of the fish. It s just like any other animal, part driven by genetics, part driven by age and part driven by ability to find food to eat.

Fall run has been exceptionally low this year, Hamelberg said.

The bottom line is the ocean sport and fisheries all were closed this year because numbers were expected to decline, he said.

This year s fall run was expected to be around 60,000 salmon, about a third lower than 2007 s 90,000 salmon, he said.

Coleman had 22,000 salmon in Battle Creek in 2007 and was expected to have between 14,000- 15,000 this year, he said.

To date, they’ve had more than 13,000 return.

Knot of the day

While getting ready for a steelhead fishing trip on the Trinity River I did a little research on knots to join fluorocarbon leader material to P-lines new Hydrofloat braided line and I came up with this neat website that allows anyone to download a widget called "fishing knots of the day".  I just added it to my blog and I suggest that you click on this link and check out the animated instructions to tying that forgotten fishing knot.  Cool website.  

Steve Coffman and I spent two days chasing steelhead on the Trinity River and just like our trip to Colorado hunting, the most common statement was:  " Man, you should have been here last year".  Steve landed a nice 6 lber and I hooked five and landed only two, the largest being about four lbs.

I left early to take Herb and Bert deer hunting on the river so I forgot to ask Steve to send me photos of the catch.  I will post them if Steve sends me copies in the near future.

On Friday Herb, Bert and I spent the day chasing deer and trout on the river where Tadd and I got our bucks in the first rifle season.  Herb did see one buck but couldn't put forks on it while it ran for cover.  The fishing was a little slow and the only trout to mention was the one Herb caught while pealing his boiled egg during lunch break.  Sorry to say, Bert had a tough day on the water. One Sacramento River pike (squawfish) was all he could harass.  

The last three months has been very busy in the hobby department.  It's time to spend more time at home and regroup for the winter and catch up on my domestic duties.  It is raining cats and dogs outside right now so it is a little easier to concentrate on my to do list.  Sam has been complaining about all the quail he wants to chase so I may sneak out next week to help council Sam and his quail problem.  

Check out the knot of the day widget on the sidebar.  

Back from Meeker

The hunting was so bad in Meeker I couldn't even hunt down a shrink to deal with my depression so we had to rely on Jack to ease the pain of scouting and hunting a total of five days before we even spotted the first doe.  We did have a nice bull elk trot by us on opening morning which was the only emotional high we had for the first three days of hunting.  I guess the problem started last winter when the deep snows caused a 40% die off of the deer herd.  With deep snow and a lack of food source the other 60% migrated to private ranches and survived by sharing the rancher's feed with the local cattle population.   It appeared that the deer stayed on private ranches and why wouldn't they, the food and water was abundant.  We covered every inch of the two zones we were licensed to hunt and only found a hand full of deer spread out over hundreds of miles of public land.  We did find a few deer in the Crosss Mountain area which was over a 100 mile round trip from our bunkhouse in Meeker.  One day while traveling back to Meeker from Cross Mountain we passed by a private ranch about 3:00 in the afternoon  and we counted over 80 deer feeding in one field.  A truck with two hunters entered the field and drove directly towards the herd and they parted just like the Red Sea and Moses and then gathered back together after the truck left the  field.  

There were a few deer killed in our zones, but all were on private ranches.  After 7 days of hunting we threw in the towel and headed home to go steelhead fishing on the Trinity River.  The buck below was Kyle's first buck and boy what a dandy.  Larry, the super guy that rented us the bunkhouse guided Kyle on his first hunt on a private ranch.  The other photo is a cool 4x3 that was killed by a lady from Wisconsin on the Louisiana Purchase Outfitters ranch.  This buck only cost her $3900.  At that price you can feed the herd a lot of hay through the winter.  The bailing twine tangled in his horns is proof that this buck prefers bales of hay instead of sage brush.  

Sorry I didn't post to the blog from Meeker, but when you have nothing to write about and Mr. Daniels is treating your depression keying up the computer is pretty low on my list of fun things.  Maybe I'll have more to write about when we get back from the Trinity River.  

Another years goes by

Come on Pops, get down and crawl a little faster.

 I had a great time Saturday playing Croquet, Secret Agent and making flower and grass pies with my grand kids.  That's right, old Pops crawling around the yard on his hands and knees and I still feel it today.  Everyone brought a little something to the table and we had a great Barbeque and memories of another passing year. 

Time for a little Flower and Grass Pie for Pop's Birthday

The venison stew is good Pops.

Well, today is the big day.  It is my Birthday  (that isn't so exciting anymore), but the real news is that today we leave for Colorado.  Deer season doesn't start until Saturday, but I can't get out of town soon enough.  The first stop will be the cabin to winterize and log oil the railings, that's right, work before pleasure.  Steve and I will leave early Wednesday morning and the first stop will be in Midway Utah for pizza and beer with Olivia, Jeff and Nikki  while we watch the Presidential Debate.  We should make it to Meeker by midday Thursday, with plenty of time to scout, sight in the guns and get use to the altitude.  I'm taking my laptop so I will keep everyone posted on the progress. 

 

The next post will be from Deer Camp.

Switching Gears

With a freezer full of venison I took the opportunity today to chase a trout down the Sacramento River.  Two days working around the house is all a retired guy can take, so Terry and I launched the boat and headed up river looking for a trout dinner.  Since the limit is only one hatchery trout it needed to be a big one.  The plans were to get an early start but the damn dog started barking about 1:30am and after investigating the perimeter of the compound in my skivvies with a spot light looking for the infamous local mountain lion and her kittens, I was wide awake until 4:00am.  At 4:30 Michele's alarm blasted be out of sound sleep (can't wait til she retires) and then again when she kissed me goodbye at 5:40am and needless to say I didn't get up to early.  At 8:00am I was about to head out the door and the phone rang,  and low and behold it was the Game Biologist from the fish and game returning my call from yesterday.  After 45 minutes of discussing the rights of mother mountain lion and her kitties eating our local goat, sheep and deer population I finally got out the door.  By 9:15 we were hot on the tracks ( do trout even make tracks, I must still be in hunting mode) of the trophy trout and steelhead of the Sacramento River.  It started off really slow, Terry caught the first squawfish ( I mean Sacramento Pike) and then I hooked a small 14" rainbow.  All that excitement called for lunch about 11:00am and we escaped into the shade of Inks Creek for a sandwich and coke.   The first drift after lunch produced dinner for a week when Terry set the hook and a beautiful 9 lb 1 oz. Steelhead.  I didn't realize how big the fish was and because I thought my line was way past Terry's I didn't reel in and the fish decided to launch for the stars making a jump that cleared the water by four feet and quickly crossed over my line.  Well, now we have tangled lines and the fish decides to head south for a while, racing towards the boat with lines going all directions.  I reeled up close and bit my line off, donating my lure to the cause.  Now the toad is right behind the boat rolling like a gator with a pig in his mouth and all the time I am thinking any second that flatfish is going to just pop out of his mouth and Terry will blame it all on me because I can see both lures hanging out of his mouth.  I reached for the net and the ol' net boy got him on the first pass.  Looking back it was quite the circus but that is what memories are make of.  Terry has fished the river for many years and he claims this steelhead is his largest ever. 

What a year, Tadd's buck of a lifetime, Terry's Steelhead of a lifetime and Pop's memories of a lifetime.

Tadd's Big Buck Story

Rifle season came quickly and ended quickly for Tadd and me.  That’s right, we both connected on forked horns in the first three days of the season.  But that is another story I will get to soon. The big story is Tadd’s big 6X4 he nailed during archery season.  

On the second Monday of the archery season we decided to travel to Swain Mountain, do a little mobile spot and stocking (road hunting), and try to put together a game plan for the rest of the season.  Upper B-line just wasn’t producing so we needed to change our attack and try to find a buck that would stand still long enough for us to launch an arrow.  We seemed to be the only hunters on the mountain that morning which turned out to be just the ticket.  We started working our way to the top on the east side of the mountain and we started seeing a few does here and there but as we neared the upper half of the mountain we noticed sighting to be few are far between.  We decided to move back down the mountain and check out a dead end road that wraps around the north side that had several spur roads and plenty of brush.  We had just turned down a spur road which was lined with lodgepole and I noticed movement at 1:00 at about 50 yards. ( mobile spot and stock language)   Immediately the radio barked out "buck" and without slowing Tadd peeled off the back of the truck and I continued down the road as if we didn’t see the buck making a quick exit.  I continued down to the end of the road, parked and then sneaked back angling up the hill back towards the action.  I found a good opening and quickly ranged the yardages to the trails leading into the clearing.  Then the waiting began, like many times before, but this time it seemed different.  The wind was blowing the right direction; Tadd had the perfect cover to exit the truck, the brush wasn’t too dense, so the buck was totally unaware we were on the chase.  Like many time before I sat there waiting for the call on the radio, hoping that this would be the time.  Well, this time was different and I will never forget the electricity in Tadd’s voice when he said:  “Dad, I’ve got blood”. 

 

After Tadd slipped off the back of the truck the hunt was on.  Slowly he angled up the hill noticing that the wind was blowing across the trail where he had last seen the buck.  Fifteen minutes went by and still no buck.  When Tadd reached to top of the hill he could look back and see the line of trees and brush that bordered the road.  By now he was 300 yards up the hill and figured the buck had angled back into a brush pile just behind the lodgepole that lined the road. Now he had a 10 mph wind directly in his face, not only covering his scent but also muffling his movements.  About a third of the way back down the hill Tadd peaked around a large patch of brush to see a three point bedded down, facing into the wind and watching the road.  The range finder quickly read 82 yards and Tadd had to take a few seconds to calm his nerves and stop the shaking.  Then he noticed movement about 5 yards to the right and holly s—t, there was another buck, a monster.  He was also bedded down but all he could see was the massive rack towering above the brush.  It was time to settle down again.  It’s great when a buck is totally unaware of your presence because it gives you time to rid the buck fever that always seems to alter your sense of judgment.  Step by step over the next twenty minutes Tadd closed the distance, 65 yards, 54 yards, 42 yards, 36 yards and then finally 28 yards.  The three point presented a slam dunk shot but the monster was hidden by the brush and it was time to make a decision.  After getting the shakes under control again, Tadd slipped back up the hill a few yards and started back down another trail that hopefully opened up a shooting lane to the big boy’s vitals.  Back again to 28 yards, Tadd could see the horns, head, neck and part of the buck’s right shoulder. Now another decision, wait until he stands up and then draw and shoot or just draw and wait for him to jump up.  Tadd has been there before and waiting for the buck to stand up before drawing the bow has never worked before.  When a buck is standing and he hears the arrow sliding through the rest he tends to take on the properties of a rocket ship.  Tadd knows.  Tadd went to full draw and the buck heard the noise and stood up.  With the 20 yard pin placed just a little high the arrow was released. At 28 yards, slightly down hill, the arrow should have entered right in the boiler room, but the buck heard the release and dropped a little spinning to the left and the arrow entered right between his should blades and exited just left of his wind pipe. 

 

Tadd was right; he had blood, lots of blood.  After years of missing and missing and missing the arrow finally found the mark on a buck of a lifetime.  When I got back to the truck I immediately got out the video camera and the excitement of the recovery is on video from beginning to end. I’m sure we will watch it many times over because the excitement is just down right addictive. Tadd will remember his first kill not only as the first buck but a buck of a lifetime.  I have bow hunted for 46 years and this was my hunt of a lifetime. 

 

Now back to reality.  The rifle hunt story will follow.  

Deer gone, Trout Galore

Yesterday was the last day of Archery season and it ended without a story to tell. Tadd and Mini came up to the cabin to join us for the Labor Day weekend and we ended the season cruising the roads of Swain Mountain searching for that last minute buck. Just as the sun was going down we spotted a nice buck but he exited the scene in a cloud of dust. It seemed like a long ride home, reflecting back and dreaming about the missed opportunities but the thrill of Tadd's buck overshadowed the disappointment of another unsuccessful season for old Pops. After a few days of rest I will post the complete story on Tadd's big buck.

Archery season may be over but the Trout are biting big time at the springs. This morning was very cold (37 degrees) so we slept in, had waffles for breakfast and finally got out the door about 10:00am. We drove over to Big Springs and walked down to the lake and I really didn't have much confidence in catching anything at the end of the three day weekend. Boy was I wrong! Tadd caught a nice fish on his second cast and the action continued until we left at 1:30pm. Mini hooked a nice fish and performed a perfect premature release. She later hooked a good fish and landed it on her own. Watch out Tadd, take her out a few more times and you can start playing second fiddle like I have been doing for the last decade. Most of the fish were in the 16 to 17 inch range with two going 19 inches. What a great way to end a holiday weekend.

Big Buck Down (really big)

Tadd finally connected with a big boy. He has been saving up all these years to make his first buck a big one. Now he is ruined for live, it is only down hill from here. To put his buck into perspective, probably less than 1% of the bucks killed in California have six points. He almost had seven on one side but the velvet covered the split point on one tine. The spread is only about 18 inches but any hunter would be proud to bag a 6x4 still in velvet. It has been an exhausting day so I will only post a few photos in this post but I promiss to tell the whole story when I have more time. Enjoy the photos and stay tuned for more photos and maybe a movie of the excitement after the shot. BBD.

A new link

Just to update everyone on my new granddaughter I have added a link to her webpage. It is titled "Olivia's Webpage" and is the first entry on the right side bar. Nikki's photography is amazing and does a great job posting new photos. Click on Olivia's link and check out my new beautiful grand daughter.

Back from Utah

We just got back today from Utah and boy what a blast. Olivia is the prettiest little girl in the world and really a pleasure to spoil. Olivia visited the doctor this week and everything is just perfect. She is eating really well and gaining weight right on schedule. It was fun feeding her in the car while Nikki and Michele were out shopping for a new reunion dress. Mom is really doing well and ready to get back to work on a part time basis. Jeff and Nikki have a really good deal going with work and able to juggle things around and cover all the bases. ( Jeff sold a house this week to start the month off in fashion) It was difficult leaving the little girl but all my chores were done (along with a little scouting for Elk). Enjoy the photos.

More Photos

Nikki and Olivia are home now and everything is going well. Nikki claims to have 1000's of photos of OJ but can't find time to post or build a website. Imagine that, home for one day and can't find time to build a website. What is motherhood coming to? I'll post new photos as soon as they show up.

A New Addition to the Family

On Monday July 21st at about 3:00 PM Nikki and Jeff gave Pops a new granddaughter. Olivia Jane weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long. Olivia was four hours old when these photos were taken. Mom and baby are doing just fine and ready to come home tomorrow. More photos to come. Pops is smiling ear to ear looking at that curly red hair. Wonder where that came from?????

It's Time to Rumble

Michelle and I checked the trail camera this evening and what a blast. With 209 photos on the card we were excited to get home and check out what this week had to offer. I am really happy with the photos this year, even though the number of bucks doesn't compare with last year. Fighting does and bears get me excited and the nice three point is a bonus. We seldom see coyotes in daylight hours, so it was great to see two on the way home. One was in our hunting area and the other just up the street from the cabin.

On a different note, we installed 40 feet of culvert across the front of our cabin and we now have plenty of parking. I dug a patio behind the cabin and moved all the dirt around to the front to cover the culverts and make a level parking area. Next week we will spread the gravel and it will be party time. We have plans to build a horseshoe pit and maybe a putting green between the parking area and the front deck. (next year maybe) Stay tuned for more big buck and bear photos.

Another Nice Buck for the Album

After a smokey Fourth of July I relocated my trail cam to a location that produced some good photos last year. After three days I pulled the card today and to my excitement I recorded 339 photos! I couldn't wait to get home and I was sure I would have dozens of big bucks, but, to my suprise there was only one nice three point and lots of does. Last year this location produced photos of many nice bucks and one toad. Without looking at the photos I moved the trail cam to a new location thinking 339 photos was enough for one location. There is plenty of time left before Bow season so hopefully I can find a real trophy to chase. Stay tuned.

Smokey Last Seen Headed North

Do I Smell a Bear........

Boy has it been smokey in the Almanor Basin! Even old Smokey is making tracks looking for clean air. Herb came up and helped me move my trail camera to a new location today and to my surprise I captured a photo of my first bear on June 26th. This spot appears to be a good one so I will put up a tree stand next week and then let the area settle down for a week or two before I sneak in and try to get some video of one of the six bucks that frequent this trail. We set up the camera on a promising spot about three miles west, next to a nice stream with plenty of mosquitoes. It looks promising except for all the mosquitoes. I'll post more photos next week when I check it again.

The fires south of us are sending lots of smoke our way and with the wind kicking up in the afternoons the air quality sucks. We keep the windows closed until it starts to cool off and by morning the air is OK for outdoor activities. I hear that they are using Smokejumpers on the Cub Fire. I think they should just set a back fire on the Pacific Crest Trail and burn up the hole canyon. I talked to a couple of Forest Service guys today an they said that the fire was staying on the ground a doing a lot of good for the forest. Just hope the wind doesn't switch to the north and start blowing 40 mph. Stay tuned.

Where has Pops been?

I can't believe it has been almost three months since my last post. It's not because I have been too busy or haven't had anything to post. It must be because I have been having too much fun. I caught a ton of bass in May and I have some good videos of catching bass on beds, but I just haven't taken the time to edit and post. Lazy I guess... I set up my trail cam and below are a few bucks I will be chasing this fall. Enjoy and I'll try to post a little more often.