January 20th - Still Cold & Icy

Joe and I hole hopped both the Greenbrier and the New for about 4 hours today. Joe hooked one and I had no hits. The water was low and still had ice in spots. lower waterblevels made the fishing down right impossible.

January 10 - A Not So Good Walk Spoiled



Coyotes didn't leave much of this poor deer.

 I try rabbit and grouse hunting at Bull Falls. It was just to icy. The ground was frozen solid. I even slipped and fell once after nearly wrecking on the ice getting there. I did find a dead deer  that coyotes had killed and then picked clean.

January 1st - A New Years Trout

On a day when you had to wonder if Brad & I had any sense at all we braved the snow, ice, cold air, and even colder water to go trout fishing. The river was 2/3rd frozen over severly limiting where we were able to even attempt to persue trout. We did however see a bald eagle, a place where coyotes had killed a deer, and manage to catch 19 trout. Including one  20inch class fish that Brad landed. The ice was caked up in almost 10 inch thick plates in some places. Brad's GPS told us we walked 6.91 miles with 1302 of total elevation change.



No worry about that today.





Brad waiting for the ice to break.



Chunk Ice Stacked Up

Places like this normally produce fish when they are not frozen solid.

Brad with a nice 20 inch class fish

2010 A Year In Review

In 2010 I fished 60 times, catching 563 fish, avg. 9.39 fish per trip, with a high of 103 fish and several lows of 0 fish caught. I caught Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Bass, Redeyed Bass, Walleye, Perch, Rainbow Trout, Blue gill, Crappie, Channel Catfish, Drum, Chain Pickerel, and Fall Fish.

I hunted on 14 times killing 33 squrriels and 1 doe. I have now killed 633 squrriels and 46 deer lifetime total. Of those deer 6 have been bow kills, 26 were bucks and 20 were does. I have killed 5 turkeys lifetime.

Parting Shot - December 31st 2010

On the last day of the year and the 2010 deer season Danny, Dad, and I headed to War Ridge in order to capture a doe. Since this may well be last year for a doe season much less an after Christmas doe season given the recent 31% drop in deer kill during rifle season we decided to give it a go. The snow had iced over and had been on the ground since the December 15th. This snow made it impossible to move around without making a ton of noise. I went down the ridge below Ben's tree stand and found an area on the sunny side of the hill where the deer had been tearing up the ground paying acorns with deer poop everywhere. I figured since deer would hear me crunching ice/snow three farms over I may as well set down and wait until it was time to put off a drive. I had settled in to watching a grey squirrel on this much warmer than average day when I heard deer coming down the hill towards me from all the way across the creek a good 300+ yard away. I could see them highlighted in the snow. I started to try a shot but it was just too far and too thick. I heard them cross the bottom and then it got quiet for awhile. I was sitting down with a rest when I saw a doe step up over the ridge in some brush. I looked at her through the scope. She was quartering into me. And for what ever reason instead of waiting for the situation to develop in light of the fact that the deer hadn't spotted me yet I just pulled the trigger. I hit the deer and she fell backward then hoped off and ran away out of sight along with the 3 other deer that where with her. I have no idea why I hurried the shot. I had a rest, I had a comfortable hide, I had the wind, and I had all the time in the world to pick the most optimal opportunity. But instead I just pulled the trigger. I went down to where I though she was when I shot and could find nothing I when back to where I had shot from and tried again this time I found a blood trail. I got on the radio and told Danny and Dad what was going on. I started on the blood trail and it quickly crossed the creek and went up the hill . Danny walked down and got into position in case I jumped the deer. We tracked the deer a good 700 yards until the blood ran out. Then we followed likely sets of tracks but there were just too many sets of tracks to figure it out. I feel like I hit her a little high by rushing the shot for no good reason. Dad saw the other 3 deer go through above him but was not afforded a shot. Danny saw a deer going up a ridge acting a little off that could have been the one I hit although he too didn't get a shot.  This deer is the first deer I have ever lost with a high powered rifle. I have lost them with a bow and a muzzleloader but never with a rifle. It wasn't the guns fault it was user error.