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.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
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.
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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.
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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.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
12-20-2015
12-20-2015 130PM-530PM, Scott and myself walleye fishing below the Dresbach dam
Weather: S8, 44°, overcast, 29.74↓
Water: dirty, high, 9.2’ rising, 80kcfs, 34°
Caught: Scott: 2 small saugers, me: 1 small sauger and 2 small walleyes
Generally this is the time of year where I would not be walleye fishing from a boat. Instead I would either be ice fishing or rabbit hunting. Unfortunately with the mild weather pattern we have neither ice for ice fishing nor snow for rabbit hunting. So, I guess by default I went walleye fishing. I cannot remember any winter ever being this mild. When I was a kid I would say I am always ice fishing by Thanksgiving, but here we are just a few days from Christmas and is does not look like there will be fishable ice for at least a week or more!
Today I was more curious than anything to see if I could catch any walleyes. I figured with the high dirty water it would be tough and it was. We tried many areas below the dam with very poor results. I even tried live minnows some of the time with no results. The three fish I caught came off plastics. Generally if a person is able to get out in a boat and walleye fish this time of year the bite is pretty good, but with the high muddy water the bite was almost non existent today.
Weather: S8, 44°, overcast, 29.74↓
Water: dirty, high, 9.2’ rising, 80kcfs, 34°
Caught: Scott: 2 small saugers, me: 1 small sauger and 2 small walleyes
Generally this is the time of year where I would not be walleye fishing from a boat. Instead I would either be ice fishing or rabbit hunting. Unfortunately with the mild weather pattern we have neither ice for ice fishing nor snow for rabbit hunting. So, I guess by default I went walleye fishing. I cannot remember any winter ever being this mild. When I was a kid I would say I am always ice fishing by Thanksgiving, but here we are just a few days from Christmas and is does not look like there will be fishable ice for at least a week or more!
Today I was more curious than anything to see if I could catch any walleyes. I figured with the high dirty water it would be tough and it was. We tried many areas below the dam with very poor results. I even tried live minnows some of the time with no results. The three fish I caught came off plastics. Generally if a person is able to get out in a boat and walleye fish this time of year the bite is pretty good, but with the high muddy water the bite was almost non existent today.
12-19-2015
Dec 19, 2015 11AM-3PM Cottontail rabbit hunting with my dogs Roxy and Zeta
Where: La Farge, WI
Weather: sunny, 28°, ½ inch of fresh snow cover
Bagged: two cottontail rabbits
It was my firs cottontail hunt of the year and Roxy’s first hunt this year period. We had gotten a dusting of snow last night, so my goal was to find a spot with some snow and rabbits. I figured since the north side of La Crosse was the northern most area of the fresh stuff, La Farge was my best bet.
Luckily when I got there the ground looked as if it had been sprinkled with powdered sugar. The conditions were good and so were the dogs. I was particularly impressed with Zeta’s perseverance and ability to figure out a lost track. She is no speed demon, but I don’t care she can sure follow a track! Roxy also did well today, but she is ten now and definitely slowing down. Unfortunately this may be her last year of hunting.
We had three really good runs that resulted in two cottontails. The third cottontail escaped by swimming a thirty-foot river that was both deep and fast.
Where: La Farge, WI
Weather: sunny, 28°, ½ inch of fresh snow cover
Bagged: two cottontail rabbits
It was my firs cottontail hunt of the year and Roxy’s first hunt this year period. We had gotten a dusting of snow last night, so my goal was to find a spot with some snow and rabbits. I figured since the north side of La Crosse was the northern most area of the fresh stuff, La Farge was my best bet.
Luckily when I got there the ground looked as if it had been sprinkled with powdered sugar. The conditions were good and so were the dogs. I was particularly impressed with Zeta’s perseverance and ability to figure out a lost track. She is no speed demon, but I don’t care she can sure follow a track! Roxy also did well today, but she is ten now and definitely slowing down. Unfortunately this may be her last year of hunting.
We had three really good runs that resulted in two cottontails. The third cottontail escaped by swimming a thirty-foot river that was both deep and fast.
12-12-2015
Dec 12, 2015 89M-2AM Scott, Steve Skauf and myself walleye fishing
Where: Pool 7 below the Trempealeau dam
Weather: calm, 32-35°, cloudy with rain after 1:30AM
Water: dirty, rising, 45kcfs, 36°
Caught: Approx. 80-100 walleyes and saugers, Steve kept took home about 3 walleyes and 9 sauger
It was a very good walleye and sauger bite tonight. It took us awhile to get onto the fish, but once we did the action was great and very consistent. The fish were relating to slack water far up by the dam.
I had great success with a BNT Paddle Tail. Scott was using a BNT Pulsar and Steve (Buck) was using a hair jig with a gulp minnow. No live bait was used tonight! We did not catch any giants, but I did catch a 21, 20 and 19-inch walleyes that were all released.
Where: Pool 7 below the Trempealeau dam
Weather: calm, 32-35°, cloudy with rain after 1:30AM
Water: dirty, rising, 45kcfs, 36°
Caught: Approx. 80-100 walleyes and saugers, Steve kept took home about 3 walleyes and 9 sauger
It was a very good walleye and sauger bite tonight. It took us awhile to get onto the fish, but once we did the action was great and very consistent. The fish were relating to slack water far up by the dam.
I had great success with a BNT Paddle Tail. Scott was using a BNT Pulsar and Steve (Buck) was using a hair jig with a gulp minnow. No live bait was used tonight! We did not catch any giants, but I did catch a 21, 20 and 19-inch walleyes that were all released.
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