Jan 23, 2016 11:00AM-5PM Hare hunting with Zeta, Roxy and Dick’s dog Lacy
Where: Gilman, WI
Weather: Nice, partly cloudy, 25°, N 10-15, 8 inches of snow cover
Bagged: Two hares
Today I was hunting solo. I was however accompanied by my dogs Roxy and Zeta and Dick’s dog Lacy.
The first spot was a smallish area off Cemetery Road. I did not want to try and keep track of all three dogs at once, so Roxy and Zeta got the first period. Things started out relatively slow, but it did not take long to heat up. The girls did a pretty good job of running two different hares and I was able to bag both.
The next stop was Hooker Road. Lacy got the call for this second period and I ran her by herself. Things started off well with Lacy staying in contact with me for about the first three minutes, then she was gone! Thank goodness for GPS tracking collars. One look down at my display and I could see she was already two hundred yards away and moving farther out. The chase was on for me to catch her or at least catch up to her. Lacy is able to chase a rabbit, but she is not much of a search dog. She tends to hunt way too fast and just tries to cut a track and not necessarily jump a rabbit. Luckily for me she crossed a hot track and proceeded to run a hare for the next two hours. I did get a couple of glimpses of it and even managed to get a shot off at it, but I never did bag it. I actually had to catch Lacy and drag her through a tag alder swamp from hell.
For the final period I ran Roxy and Zeta. We managed to get a small run going just before dark, but I never saw or connected with this hare. I ended up pulling them off and getting them back to the truck. The conditions were quite good today. The snow was about eight inches deep with no crust. The temperature was also very comfortable with a high in the mid twenties. The area did not seem to have any new snow within the last couple of days and hare sign was very apparent and abundant.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Jan 16, 2016
Jan 16, 2016 12:30PM-4: 30PM Rabbit hunting with Zeta and Dick’s dog Lacy and Scott
Where: Lafarge, WI
Weather: mostly cloudy, 7°, W17, 6 inches of crunchy snow cover
Bagged: Me: two cotton tails, Scott: nothing
It was a cold rabbit-hunting day. The wind was strong, the rabbits were hard to find and the dogs could not smell. Even though it was quite cold, I was dress appropriately and did not notice it being that cold.
It was tough for the dogs however. The snow was very crusty, except for about ½ inch of fluff that was on top of the crust. The dogs were able to get around quite well, but their feet took a lot of punishment. The scenting also seemed to be very poor. They did have a couple of goods runs but for the most part they struggled.
Where: Lafarge, WI
Weather: mostly cloudy, 7°, W17, 6 inches of crunchy snow cover
Bagged: Me: two cotton tails, Scott: nothing
It was a cold rabbit-hunting day. The wind was strong, the rabbits were hard to find and the dogs could not smell. Even though it was quite cold, I was dress appropriately and did not notice it being that cold.
It was tough for the dogs however. The snow was very crusty, except for about ½ inch of fluff that was on top of the crust. The dogs were able to get around quite well, but their feet took a lot of punishment. The scenting also seemed to be very poor. They did have a couple of goods runs but for the most part they struggled.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Jan 10, 2016
Jan 10, 2016 10:00AM-3:00PM Tip up fishing with Scott
Where: Goose Island, WI
Weather: sunny, cold, -4°, windy, mostly bare ice
Caught: Me: nothing, Scott: 2 pike 18 & 26”
It was my first trip on the ice for the year and I wanted to fish for pike. We started out fishing the south end of Goose Island where I had success last year early in the season. After two hours and no fish and no excitement except for the three coyotes I saw it was time to move on.
Our next stop was a bay just to the north of the tubes in the middle of Goose Island. This spot proved to be a little better. That is for Scott anyhow; he managed to ice two pike and I missed one.
Where: Goose Island, WI
Weather: sunny, cold, -4°, windy, mostly bare ice
Caught: Me: nothing, Scott: 2 pike 18 & 26”
It was my first trip on the ice for the year and I wanted to fish for pike. We started out fishing the south end of Goose Island where I had success last year early in the season. After two hours and no fish and no excitement except for the three coyotes I saw it was time to move on.
Our next stop was a bay just to the north of the tubes in the middle of Goose Island. This spot proved to be a little better. That is for Scott anyhow; he managed to ice two pike and I missed one.
Jan 9, 2016
Jan 9, 2016 10:00AM-3: 30PM snowshoe hare hunting with my dog Zeta and Roxy along with Dick and his dog Lacy
Where: Fairchild, WI
Weather: cloudy, 17°, windy, 6 inches of crunchy snow cover
Bagged: Me: one show shoe hare
It was my first trip up to the Fairchild area this year. I was hoping that after the thaw and rain a few days ago the icy snow would be covered with at least a couple inches of fluffy snow. The main reason I wanted a fresh covering over the icy snow was to protect the dog’s feet and also to hold the scent of the hares that hopefully the girls would be trailing.
The first and only spot was a fairly thick and swampy area just to the south of Camp Globe road. This was a spot that produced well for us the last season. There was about six inches of crusty snow on the ground with about one inch of powder on top of that. Unfortunately it was not enough to protect the dog’s feet, but it was enough to hold some of the hare scent.
The first two hours were not too good; the dogs were not very successful in producing any sustained runs. I did however manage to bad one hare that they chased for a little bit. We tried to get the dogs out of the woods to go to another spot, but the girls had other ideas. On the way out they got another one running and this time the game was on. They ran this hare for over two hours and we never did connect on it. I did take a couple Hail Mary shots at it, but never connected. I was able to catch Zeta and Roxy and pull them off the track after about two and one half hours. But by this time their poor little feet were badly chewed up from the ice. Zeta was in extreme discomfort and pain and at the end she was just following Lacy and Roxy whining.
One condition in the woods that I noticed and that was very unusual for this time of year was the amount of open puddles of water in the woods. It definitely is starting out as a mild winter. At the end of the day I checked out a spot to the north of Camp Globe road down by the river. There were a few hare tracks here, but the main thing I noticed was the fresh sets of wolf tracks on the trail. With the absence of trapping the last couple of years I am definitely noticing a lot more wolf sign.
Where: Fairchild, WI
Weather: cloudy, 17°, windy, 6 inches of crunchy snow cover
Bagged: Me: one show shoe hare
It was my first trip up to the Fairchild area this year. I was hoping that after the thaw and rain a few days ago the icy snow would be covered with at least a couple inches of fluffy snow. The main reason I wanted a fresh covering over the icy snow was to protect the dog’s feet and also to hold the scent of the hares that hopefully the girls would be trailing.
The first and only spot was a fairly thick and swampy area just to the south of Camp Globe road. This was a spot that produced well for us the last season. There was about six inches of crusty snow on the ground with about one inch of powder on top of that. Unfortunately it was not enough to protect the dog’s feet, but it was enough to hold some of the hare scent.
The first two hours were not too good; the dogs were not very successful in producing any sustained runs. I did however manage to bad one hare that they chased for a little bit. We tried to get the dogs out of the woods to go to another spot, but the girls had other ideas. On the way out they got another one running and this time the game was on. They ran this hare for over two hours and we never did connect on it. I did take a couple Hail Mary shots at it, but never connected. I was able to catch Zeta and Roxy and pull them off the track after about two and one half hours. But by this time their poor little feet were badly chewed up from the ice. Zeta was in extreme discomfort and pain and at the end she was just following Lacy and Roxy whining.
One condition in the woods that I noticed and that was very unusual for this time of year was the amount of open puddles of water in the woods. It definitely is starting out as a mild winter. At the end of the day I checked out a spot to the north of Camp Globe road down by the river. There were a few hare tracks here, but the main thing I noticed was the fresh sets of wolf tracks on the trail. With the absence of trapping the last couple of years I am definitely noticing a lot more wolf sign.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Jan 3, 2016
Jan 3, 2016 9:00AM-3:30PM Cottontail rabbit hunting with my dog Zeta, along with Dick and his dog Lacy and Tom and his dog Dirt
Where: Lafarge, WI
Weather: cloudy, 28°, windy, 6 inches of snow cover
Bagged: Me: three cottontails, Dick: three cottontails, Tom: 0
It was my second trip down towards Lafarge this year. I was hunting with Dick and Tom and their dogs. I only brought Zeta today; Roxy was still pretty wore out from the hunt the other day. She had ran very hard on Friday and she could hardly open one of her eyes. The poor girl is getting old and just plan gets whooped.
The conditions were very good and so was the running. Dick and I had a very good day, but Tom never fired a shot.
¬
Where: Lafarge, WI
Weather: cloudy, 28°, windy, 6 inches of snow cover
Bagged: Me: three cottontails, Dick: three cottontails, Tom: 0
It was my second trip down towards Lafarge this year. I was hunting with Dick and Tom and their dogs. I only brought Zeta today; Roxy was still pretty wore out from the hunt the other day. She had ran very hard on Friday and she could hardly open one of her eyes. The poor girl is getting old and just plan gets whooped.
The conditions were very good and so was the running. Dick and I had a very good day, but Tom never fired a shot.
¬
Jan 1, 2016
9:00AM-3:30PM Cottontail rabbit hunting with my dogs Roxy and Zeta and Brian DoleyWhere: Blair, WI
Weather: cloudy, 28°, windy, 10 inches of snow cover
Bagged: Nothing
Today we started out hunting Brian’s land, which lies, to the East of Blair. The last two years this spot has had a good population of bunnies, but this year we never chased a rabbit. There were a few tracks, but the dogs were unable to rout any out of their lairs.
Our next spot was just to the west of Blair. This area used to be a great spot, but the last two years it has been a bust! We did have one very long and interesting run though.
The girls chased and chased a rabbit. After about an hour it seemed as if the rabbit had ran into a hole. I could hear Zeta franticly barking from the same position for several minutes. I decided I had better go and investigate and to my surprise she had treed it.
The bunny had climbed up a leaning split hollow tree and was up in the tree about eight feet. Zeta was also up in the tree about five feet off the ground. I could see the bunny and actually touch it but I figured after all the trauma it went through it probably deserved to live. But before I could pull Zeta off it got nerved and climbed a little higher and launched itself out of the tree. The chase was back on! We allowed the chase to continue on for another fifteen minutes then we caught the dogs.
That bunny had nine lives. It survived being shot at three different times and it also survived its jump out of the tree!
Dec 27, 2015
Dec 27, 2015 10:30AM-4PM Cottontail rabbit hunting with my dogs Roxy and Zeta along with Dick and his dog Lacy
Where: Gilman, WI
Weather: sunny, 25°, calm, 1 inch of snow cover
Bagged: one cottontail and one grouse
It was my first trip of the year up to Gilman. We went first to one of my favorite spots, but it was a no go. Unfortunately it looked as if a group with dogs hunted it the day before. It was also here where Dick discovered he had forgotten his gun.
The rest of the day was much better than our start. I was able to bag a grouse with a very long shot from my trusty 410 shotgun. I also got one hare with a very neat headshot. The last chase of the day was a lengthy one. Since I had already bagged a grouse and hare I felt sorry for Dick and allowed him to use my gun. Dick was unable to bag this elusive hare even though it had come within feet of him. I guess that’s what age does to a person: it takes your mind and your sight!!!
One thing that I did notice today that was a little troublesome was all the wolf tracks on the road on the south end of the forest.
Where: Gilman, WI
Weather: sunny, 25°, calm, 1 inch of snow cover
Bagged: one cottontail and one grouse
It was my first trip of the year up to Gilman. We went first to one of my favorite spots, but it was a no go. Unfortunately it looked as if a group with dogs hunted it the day before. It was also here where Dick discovered he had forgotten his gun.
The rest of the day was much better than our start. I was able to bag a grouse with a very long shot from my trusty 410 shotgun. I also got one hare with a very neat headshot. The last chase of the day was a lengthy one. Since I had already bagged a grouse and hare I felt sorry for Dick and allowed him to use my gun. Dick was unable to bag this elusive hare even though it had come within feet of him. I guess that’s what age does to a person: it takes your mind and your sight!!!
One thing that I did notice today that was a little troublesome was all the wolf tracks on the road on the south end of the forest.
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