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.