We just returned home from the great white north! Our annual spring trip to the Manitoba Providence of Canada will be one to remember. It's always fun to be with people as they experience northern Canadian fishing for the first time, especially when it's family. Along for the trip was Steve (father in-law) and Dad (Jerry). I referred to the pair as "My Two Dads", which always drew strange looks from folks.
The fishing is intense and extreme with the occasional element of danger. Each day typically involves 12-14 hours of flinging lures and navigating miles of lake. The weather is unpredictable and often dishes out major swings in temperatures and conditions. The sun does not set until 1AM CST and rises at 4AM CST. For first-timers the routine can be a bit exhausting, but the payoff is always worth the effort.
Manitoba is home to the oldest master angler program in North America, 50 years and going strong. The Master Angler program provides an awards system that recognizes anglers’ abilities and achievements. There are two criteria for entering a Master Angler qualifying fish, the length measurement, and the use of a hook and line to make the catch. We are always in the pursuit of "Master" fish. On our trip we were all fortunate enough to catch at least two fish which qualified for the coveted award.
The walleye fishing was outstanding during our trip. Almost everyday we caught a stringer full of walleye and would take a break from fishing to eat a warm shore lunch of fresh fish. One particular afternoon, we had dropped-off supplies in anticipation of an afternoon shore lunch. Upon our return, we discovered there had been a visitor to our picnic spot. Apparently a bear decided to rummage through our supplies and found a tasty treat in my backpack.
When you are sitting at work trying to be productive, retired friends are a curse! There is nothing more distracting than getting a phone call on a Wednesday afternoon and the retired caller on the other end just wants you to know the fish are biting and they just put number 27 on the stringer.
The next seven days will be filled with distracting fishing reports from northern Manitoba. Each year we head north to Canada in search of monster lake trout, walleye and northern pike. The only problem is, half of our group is retired and leaves a week prior to us working folks. It's difficult enough trying to focus on the tasks at-hand while eagerly anticipating such a trip, but getting calls and photo texts from the lake is just cruel!
This year I will be guiding Steve (father in-law) and Dad (Jerry) on their first Canadian adventure. This will be my seventh trip and as always the case, the last few days before we leave will be the longest!
Guided by owner Dave Redding, we chased birds all over the countryside trying to capture a bow kill on camera. How did the hunt turn-out??? You'll have to wait and watch the video to find out!
Along for the festivities were my two best hunting buddies Benjamin and Brock. The two boys had a great time running foot-loose in the big town of Hulett. They were able to visit Devil's Tower and do some serious bouldering and pay a visit to Mt. Rushmore in Keystone, SD. They got to meet Michael Waddell, Mark Drury and Former NBA Player John "Contract" Koncak. Ben even got a lesson in turkey calling from legendary turkey caller Mr. Ray Eye. The boys had a great trip, they saw hundreds of deer, antelope, turkeys and elk, got to go swimming, ate tons of junk food and didn't have to shower for three days...that's what I call a vacation!
Sparky Sparks is on a mission to prove his M2D Camo is 'Made to Deceive' long beards in all environments. Recently, Sparky attended the Kansas Governor's One-Shot Turkey hunt where he and hunting partner Tim Mercer made quick work of two nice long beards.
Prior to hunting in Butler County, Sparky had hooked up with Rick Paillet "the Verminator" where he was able to successfully deceive another wise ol' tom in M2D Camo using his new Fire and Ice call.
Then Tim headed to Washington to do some hunting with Sparky in the snowy northwest and again M2D Camo and the Fire and Ice call were able do their job!
Now, I find out Sparky has scored again, this time in California! I started hunting in M2D camo about two weeks ago and have been impressed. The color patten works really well in almost any environment. You can order M2D camo at: www.M2Dcamo.com
We are about to hit the half-way point of the Kansas spring turkey season, which runs through May 31, 2011. With the 25th Annual Kansas Governor's One-Shot Turkey Hunt in the books, its no-holds-barred for the next thirty days. Just picked up a pack of Magnus's new Bullhead broadheads and can't wait to put them to the test next week when we head to Nebraska in search of a giant Eastern.
The most exciting news of late comes from the other woman in my life. Zita Wallace, can bake the best cookies in the world, which is one of the reasons I love this gal. Unfortunately, in a moment of weakness, she married my good buddy Dale (without a doubt, he definitely married "up"!). For years now, I have been trying to convince her that we should run-away together, but she just won't take me serious. Anyway, last Wednesday, Zita had Dale take her on an evening hunt. They quickly located some birds on the western edge of their farm and got into position. After several minutes of calling, the birds materialized along the tree-row and started their final approach. Once in range, Dale gave the order to shoot and Zita fired, both birds took flight...untouched, Dale thought she had missed. What he didn't know was there was a third bird he couldn't see, which Zita had jelly-headed!!!
Dear Zita, please consider my offer to run-away together! We could find a nice single-wide in the country and I would let you bake me cookies everyday!
All hope seemed lost as we headed into the afternoon of day two during the Kansas Governor's One-Shot Turkey Hunt. Despite seeing several birds on the first morning and having a close encounter with a long beard during some run-n-gun on day one, we were still without a bird. Thirteen year old Chandler Nusz of Augusta, KS never wavered in his quest to bag a turkey. He had endured bone chilling temperatures, hurricane force winds, and toad strangling rain all in the name of drawing a bead on his first gobbler. With only 4 hours until final weigh-in, we called in reinforcements. Derek and Charlie had tagged their birds before lunch on Friday and were more than willing to make sure Chandler didn't leave El Dorado empty handed.
We all loaded the truck and started a race against the clock. We headed to a field where Derek was able to put Charlie on a monster the previous day. After a time consuming unsuccessful stalk on a nice bird (spoiled by a woman wearing a helmet on a horse walking her dog in the middle of nowhere!) we were down to our final hour. Driving down the road, on a whim, Derek pops out of the truck a gives a few yelps and is immediately cut-off with a gobble. This was going to be our last chance to score, we hurriedly took off through the timber until we reached the edge of a green wheat field. Derek placed the DSD Jake Decoy and we all took cover on the fields edge. The three of us starting calling and we could tell the bird was "hot-footing" it to us. After 8 minutes of calling, the bird popped out of the timber 30 yards from the decoy and started struttin' our way. Ol' tom got within 10 yards of the decoy and suddenly startled and was doing an about-face preparing to bolt when Derek whispered to Chandler "Shoot, Shoot, Shoot him now!". With one simple squeeze of the trigger, Chandler became a bona fide turkey hunter. Words cannot explain the moment that turkey went down, seeing a young man bag his first bird as part of a team effort with your best friends will serve as an everlasting memory. Even better, after some Dukes of Hazzard style driving, we made it to the 5 o'clock weigh-in with 2 minutes to spare!
(L to R) Derek Benson, Chandler Nusz, Charlie Reynolds, Jeff Nusz (Chandler's Dad), Joel Pile
The feathers have been flying since the opening of spring turkey season. On opening day, I headed out determined to film a solo hunt. Sunrise brought gobbles echoing from the timber and I knew it would only be a matter of time before birds were in front of me. Shortly after daybreak, a nervous hen crossed my path followed by a pair of vocal strutters. After passing on a few nice birds, the long beard I was after made his grand entrance into the field. He spotted my Dave Smith Jake Decoy and was determined to show the juvenile his dominance...big mistake on his part!
Later in the day, I received news from Derek that his little sister Katy had put the smack down on a couple of thunder chickens! Two birds, one shot!!!
The next day, news comes from the northeast that a couple more birds have been fatally deceived by a Dave Smith Jake Decoy! Under the watchful eye of Jim Browning, Colson Browning took a huge Eastern gobbler!
My good friend Peter (proud father) had this to say about the two day hunt:
"The first bird he shot came into very quickly in a ½ strut to the Dave Smith Jake decoy. He stood behind the decoy pecking it in the head and bullying him with chest bumps. Grandpa had much concern that Colson was going to blow a fist sized hole through his decoy, but Colson displayed patience and waited. We got a good show until the gobbler finally moved to one side and Colson rolled him at 10 yards. After close inspection, we found where the DSD Jake did incur some collateral damage with a stray pellet or two. However, the decoy is still in good shape and will continue fooling gobblers. Colson's first bird had a 10.5 inch beard, 1.5 inch spurs, and approximately 26 lbs. Colson, Grandpa Browning and I were all super pumped.
After a night of hotdogs, marshmallows, and approximately 100 card games of “crazy 8’s” we tried it again the following morning. 6 jakes showed up around 7:00am and they all got together in a tight wad it looked like Colson could roll all 6 with one shot. We waited and they broke up and began milling around. They were all very close but the shooting sticks were set up to shoot in one direction and the birds weren’t in the right “window”. Finally a Jake walked around into the “death zone” and Colson rolled him at 6 yards. Again, there were many high 5’s and fist-pumps then many celebratory grape pops downed. I don’t normally endorse hunting products, but since last year and counting the two birds Colson shot, 23 turkeys have been killed over our DSD Jake! It has been incredible to watch the way birds respond to that decoy."
I cannot wait until the Governor's Annual One-Shot Turkey Hunt next week, we have been letting a couple of our fields rest to increase the odds of putting our hunters on birds . Recent scouting trips indicate there should be several mature birds to choose from...if they will cooperate! The Hunt kicks off Thursday, April 14th in El Dorado,KS.
