Awesome. Nice one fir your dad too. You hunt farm with private acces? How do you find something like for your dad and still shoot it later? Here in Oregon and everywhere I been chasing fuzzy butt if you see one odds of seeing same one again are few and far between especially once it knows people are in the bush.

Another thing I always wonder. Why does Everybody here in west call deer by the total points? I can see why someone would say 4x4 or 3x4 or just 4 point.. but does anyone know why there is two different counts as per location in this great Country.

Good job. Makes me hungry. I like all steak and very little ground except scrap.

After a deer gets shot in my household I eat deer / elk pretty much everyday for at least a week. A really good place here use to butcher for like 70$$

I have done many myself but 70$$ to have a bunch of meat in paper professionally done is great

The progressive rock band ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) aptly named one of their big hit songs with what I awoke to this morning as the sun rose above the horizon...Mr. Blue Sky! Oweee...what a way to start the day! So calm and quiet that you could hear the twinkle of the water surface.

A morning troll with the kayak was in order, so off I went to prowl over some brand new waters in Lake Michigan that I have not yet covered this season.

Managed to catch a single northern pike, 3 beautifully proportioned smallmouth bass and one small yellow perch.

We have plans to baby sit the grand girls this afternoon at a beach bonfire along with a fire roasted bratwurst potluck so I needed to cut the morning short and get back home to help prep some food items.

Have a terrific weekend everybody!!!

Just back from a weeks vacation near Roscommon, MI. Had a great time enjoying a spectacular week of calm weather to enjoy paddling the kayak in. The fishing would be whatever is was destined to be, and as it turns out, was well worth the effort expended!

If you could read a fish stocking memo between the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and the local Chamber of Commerce, it may have read like this..."Please send your fish stocking truck with another quarter billion rock bass again this year...our local campers and tourists lov'em!"

While trolling for Northern pike, or any other "largish" sized gamefish, the rock bass would keep you busy on a non stop basis. No matter what size the lure, rock bass were very eager to please. Typical time between bites averaged about 3 minutes, although sometimes it may be as long as 8 minutes. Lot's of fun, and they put up a good scrappy fight!

Typically, at least once or twice each day, I would finally get struck by a pike, which is what I had been hoping for. Only managed to catch 4, and lost several others halfway back to the kayak. The smallest was a 28 incher, and the largest came in at 37 inches. If you have ever caught a Northern pike, then you also know that they often will strike at just about anything if it looks edible. They put up a great battle, and as far as our local freshwater gamefish go, they are very close to the top of the list in my book!

I can imagine a conversation between two pike as they cruise thru the underwater weedbeds and pass each other by..."Hey there Jake...how is your day going?" "Not bad says Clyde, so far I've eaten a dozen yellow perch, 3 rock bass and several lake trout fingerlings". "Yep...about the same for me and it's only 9 am. Have a great day!" Pike are a blast to catch...no doubt about it!

Took in a few local sights around the region and explored some new places to return on future trips...both to fish, and to paddle.

Being away is fun and refreshing, but getting back home to your normal routine is always a welcome conclusion to an adventure as well!

Have a great weekend ahead folks!

Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at 11 pm! The lightning bugs were out in good number as I made a half mile hike into a river fishing spot that I have not yet visited this season to pursue big brown trout during the continuing giant mayfly hatch. When you step across a one foot deep snapping turtle crossing trench that has been there for years you know that you are getting close...

The insect hatch got underway right on time (about 10:05 pm) and lasted until 11:30 pm. Small fish came out first and made a rapid and feisty amount of surface commotion as they took their "aqua seats" at the river's dining table. It was not long before the grand daddy sized fish came out to follow.

I had a couple of large fish feeding within a 300' stretch of river in front of me, with only 2 specific places where I could safely enter the river. The first fish was stubborn, and after working on it for 25 minutes with 8 different fly patterns, including a mouse, I gave up on it. I had to assume that somebody else had recently caught this guy and he was being extra cautious. Time to move on!

The second fish was 200' upstream, so I climbed back onto shore,walked along a foot trail and entered the river from the next entry point. There is 15 feet of knee deep muck to get thru, but a nearby cedar sweeper provides a series of nice hand holds to use until solid bottom is reached. I made my way up current as slow as possible, taking 6 inch steps against the swift flow of the river in an effort to minimize the wake from my Gore-tex clad body.

The hatch was a dazzling spectacle tonight, and streams of mayflies were floating down in massive "slicks" along both sides of the river, which is about 70 feet wide at this point. It was classic blanket hatch...which can actually be tricky to fish! The trout have a ton of alternative "real" flies to consider aside from your own synthetic offering in the mix.

As I neared the rising trout my steps became 3 inchers, and I was still 30 feet to one side. After 15 painfully slow minutes I was in a perfect position to make the first cast. The fish kept rising at steady 20 second intervals so I had a good sense of her rhythm. The bright moonlight highlighted the exact feeding location for me. This first cast would be deliberately short, so as not to risk spooking this brown. By the third cast I was right in the sweetspot and sure enough..."thloop", down goes my fly into the waiting gullet of this trout.

The size of a rise can be deceiving with respect to what lies below. I had a hunch this was a big fish, but I was in for a real treat on this one. My line went taught and like a mini underwater zip line customer this brown went on a frenzied series of drag screaming runs that sent a chill up my spine and echoed off the trees in the still of the night air. I ended up needing both hands to keep the rod under control during the entire fight, as well as turning my body to stay facing each line burning pathway she chose to follow in an effort to escape. This was not a "one handed" trout!

After a tenacious battle, I managed to tire her out enough to bring her towards my waiting net...and then I quickly switched on my headlamp with the side of my left thumb. Uh oh...she is way to big for the net. I had brought a knife to the gun fight...as they say. Normally on a fish this big I would just gently wade back to shore and kneel for the release and a few snapshots, but this would not be possible from where I was standing waist deep in the river.

I decide to try and nest her between the upstream side of my legs and cradle the small net over her. What happened next was not pretty...and I did not want to cause any injury to this beautiful brown trout in the process.

Upon lifting the 9-1/2 foot 7 weight fly rod completely vertical, she quickly seized the opportunity to do several clockwise rolls, followed by several counter clockwise rolls. The next thing I knew she had managed to "pop" the fly right off the small Fast Snap device that I use for quick fly changes during this particular insect hatch. We were both dumbfounded at the success of her efforts! Almost as if time stood still, she tiredly hung in front of me... suspended in animation for a brief moment and then sped away leaving me in a state of complete shock.

The fish won, but I have a memory burned into my inner cranium that I will never forget as long as I live!

Rolled into the driveway at precisely 11:57 pm, took a shower, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling until 3:30 am before my mind could shut it all down and process what had just happened!

Oh yeah...I'll be back out there. I love this time of year!

PS. Since I did not take a photo of this fish while I had it nestled up to me, some of the following photos are from my archives and are included to help finish painting the visual picture of last night. I hope you don't mind!