Category Archives: Big Game Hunting

Northwest Outdoor Report

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Kokanee Bite Taking off on Lake Samish
Kevin John at Holiday Sports in Burlington says the kokanee bite on Lake Samish has been heating up the last few days. He’s talked to several anglers who have been limits of kokanee up to 17 inches on the lake. The hot rig has been a Sling Blade dodger with a Wedding Ring spinner behind it tipped with shoepeg corn and a pink Berkley maggot. Kevin says the larger fish are being caught 20 to 30 feet deep on the downrigger and the best fishing has been occurring in the middle of the lake directly in front of the boat ramp.

Bass Tourney on Lake Washington This Weekend
The American Bass Association is hosting two tournaments on Lake Washington this weekend with separate tourneys running on both Saturday and Sunday. Larry Williams from ABA expects between 20 and 30 boats to turn out for the event. With the smallmouth bass recently moving up onto their beds he expects fishing to be quite good and thinks it will take a 22 plus pound limit to take top honors in both events. Williams says the best technique for catching smallmouth bass on Lake Washington this time of year is a drop shot rigged with either a Snyper or a Yamamoto bait.

Halibut Opener Most Productive Around Port Angeles
Anglers couldn’t have asked for better weather on the halibut opener last week. Anglers got flat seas, sun burns, and there was some good fishing at least for those in the Port Angeles area. WDFW fish checkers in Port Angeles checked 141 boats with 146 halibut on the opener last Thursday. That’s an average of more than one halibut per boat. Last year the average out of Port Angeles was around .3 halibut per boat. Port Townsend and Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island kicked out a few halibut, as well, while the fishing elsewhere in the eastern Strait and the northern Puget Sound was pretty spotty for halibut. Halibut opens in Neah Bay and LaPush this weekend and anglers are once again getting excellent water to fish for halibut offshore.

Neah Bay Halibut Opener Slower Than Expected
Mike Jamboretz from Jambo’s Sportfishing said they had to fish longer than usual to get their limits of halibut on the Neah Bay opener on Thursday. Jamboretz said the ling cod were so thick on most of 72 Square that it was hard to get to the halibut. He had to move quite a bit to find areas with good halibut numbers and finally found some better fishing on Blue Dot. Most of the fish averaged around 30 pounds and their biggest fish was 45 pounds on the opener. Neah Bay and LaPush are open again today for halibut and Jambo says they’ll have “canoe weather” offshore for fishing again.

Special Hunt Permit Deadline Drawing Near
Hunters should be aware that the deadline for special hunt applications is May 22nd this year. Hunters can apply for special hunts for deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep, and turkey in Washington thru the special hunt process. The drawing for special hunts takes place in late June.

Two Beaches Open for Clamming
Razor clam digging will be open Friday and Saturday on the Long Beach Peninsula and Twin Harbors beach will be open through Tuesday. Copalis and Mocrocks beaches are closed for the season because harvest guidelines have been met on those beaches. Low tide is at 8:12 a.m. today and digging usually starts a couple of hours before the low tide.

Florida Cops Enlist Alligator to Capture Fleeing Criminal
St Petersburg, Florida – A suspect who fled from Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies after a routine traffic stop was attacked by an alligator and later found at a local hospital being treated for puncture wounds to his face, arm, and armpit area. According to the police report the suspect, Bryan Zuniga, ran into the alligator at a nearby water treatment plant where it attacked him. He had no choice but to check himself into the hospital and of course…that’s where the police caught up to Mr. Zuniga and arrested him. If you run from the cops in Florida…you probably don’t want to wander too far off the beaten path.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Northwest Outdoor Report

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Cowlitz Slow for Steelhead, Columbia Picking Up for Springers
Justin Leach at Bob’s Sporting Goods in Longview says the fishing has been really slow on the Cowlitz for steelhead. Leach says the guys that are catching fish on the Cowlitz right now are working extremely hard for them. He says most of the guides are catching just a couple of steelhead a day for four or five rods. The springer bite in the Portland area, however, has picked up quite a bit this past week. Leach said he’s heard reports of springers in the Lower Cowlitz around the Camelot area, as well.

The Year of Big Fish Continues in Forks
Bill Meyer of Anglers Guide Service in Forks said he taped three steelhead in the mid-20’s last week and he heard of several more trophy class steelhead being caught by other local guides. Meyer’s customers caught two of the big steelhead on the Sol Duc and the third one came out of the Calawah River. He said to time your fishing with the rains on the coast for the best chance at good fishing.

Blackmouther’s Still Catching Fish in the San Juans
Kevin John from Holiday Sports in Burlington is reporting decent blackmouth fishing on the banks and on the northern side of the islands around Parker Reef and Pt. Thompson. He says the fishing seems to have slowed down quite a bit in the Rosario Strait, which has been producing fish all winter. Kevin’s top choices in the Strait of Juan de Fuca would be Coyote, Hein, Eastern, and Salmon banks. He said most of the blackmouth have been falling to either cut plug or whole herring or small spoons and hoochies.

Kokanee on the Surface at Lake Stevens
Marcy Rockenbach at Gregs Custom Tackle in Lake Stevens says the kokanee fishing is starting to pick up on Lake Stevens. She says the fish have been really shallow and anglers are catching them flatlining Dick Nite spoons, Apex lures, or wedding rings tipped with shoe peg corn or Berkley artificial maggots. Marcy says the fish are averaging around 10 to 12 inches and that the numbers of fish being caught has really picked up this past week.

Trout Still Biting on American Lake
Mike Barr at Bills Boathouse on American Lake said that anglers are still catching nice rainbow trout off the boathouse dock. He said there’s been some nice trout in the 16 to 17 inch range and they’re mostly hitting Berkley Power Egg’s in yellow or lemon lime. Mike hit the lake for Kokanee yesterday and didn’t come up with anything. Barr says the kokanee bite usually starts to pick up around early April.

Yet Another Razor Dig this Weekend
State fishery managers have approved another razor clam on the Washington coast this weekend. Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis, and Mocrocks beaches will be open today and tomorrow and Twin Harbors beach will remain open thru Monday. Todays low tide is at 4:50 p.m., tomorrows tide is 6:33 p.m., and Mondays tide at Twin Harbors is at 7:12 p.m..

Poachers Busted in Okanogan
Wenatchee World – State Department of Fish and Wildlife officers seized 9 trophy deer heads from a poacher in Okanogan last Friday. A 10th deer head was recovered last month. Officers say the killing was the work of a poaching ring made up of several individuals working together to poach trophy bucks. Both mule deer and whitetail deer were taken and all of them were 4 point or better. One impressive buck was a 5 by 6 with an impressive 29 inch spread. Those arrested in the case face a fine of up to $6,000 per animal.

New Product Allows Mushers to Go…on the Go
With the 2013 Iditarod dog sled race underway in Alaska this past week some of the female mushers are testing out a new product called Pee Pants. Pee Pants are described as a combination of bicycle shorts, a funnel, and a tube that pokes out next to the mushers boot. The women mushers testing the product are hoping the invention will allow them fewer pit stops along the 1,000 mile long Iditarod trail. Pee Pants were developed by a North Carolina doctor seeking to provide a more pleasurable outdoor experience for women. You can find Pee Pants online at MyPeePants.com!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Leupold’s VX 3L Rifle Scope

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While everyone else around here is in fishing mode I’ve been quietly plotting a fall hunting trip to the Missouri breaks in Montana that will likely require some long range bombing. I just ordered a Savage .300 Win Mag (more on that later) that delivers a serious punch down range and I finally settled on a Leupold VX-3L 4.5-14 rifle scope with a 50 millimeter objective for light gathering and the CDS system. My goal was to set up a rifle that will shoot accurately out to 500 yards and this one will get the job done just fine.

I went with the larger objective for it’s light gathering characteristics because this gun will not only be used for longer range shots at mule deer, but also for blacktails and Roosevelt elk in the dark forests of Western Washington. Not only that but we all know how critically important the early morning and evening minutes are when you’re hunting big game. Light gathering is critical during these precious minutes when animal movement is highest.

While it’s appearance may seem awkward at first the low profile of the VX-3L allows the scope to sit low on the rifle and is very comparable to a scope with 30 millimeter objective.

I did a lot of research and ended up going with the CDS system because it seemed so darned easy. CDS stands for Custom Dial system. You simply fill out a card with your ballistics and send it along with your elevation cap to Leupold and they return a new custom dial that matches your ammo. The dial is set up to shoot out to 500 yards and to be honest I won’t be taking any shots longer than that. The CDS system it is then.

The only catch I see is that I better be darn sure of the load I’m going to use and have plenty of it on hand. In todays age of ammo-madness you need to have a bunch of ammo on hand for both hunting and sighting-in because it doesn’t last long on the shelf at the local shop before POOF…it’s gone!

I’m leaning towards a 165 grain Sierra boat tail for the long range stuff, but the verdict is still out on this and I can definitely be swayed. This seems to be a good all around bullet and weight for both deer and elk. Between now and the time the rifle shows up I’ll be doing some more research on this and will make a final determination on a load.

I’ve been needing a new deer and elk rifle for many years and I’m certain that this Savage/Leupold combo is going to work out great. I’ll be certain to post up my experiences with this combo as they come along and don’t forgot that the deadline for applying for special hunts in Montana is March 15.

Now…back to the regularly scheduled fishing program already in progress!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Northwest Outdoor Report

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Jerry Thomas Wins Oly Pen Salmon Derby

A record catch of 351 hatchery Chinook were weighed in at the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby last weekend setting a new record for the 40 year old derby. 820 anglers fished in the event compared to 650 last year. Mount Vernon native Jerry Thomas took first place and $10,000 with a 15.90 pound blackmouth, Lauren Selvig from Port Orchard took second with a 14.80 pound blackmouth, and Don White of Hansville took 3rd place with a 14.35 pounder. Thomas hooked the winning fish first thing in the morning on Saturday near Protection Island on an orange label herring. It’s the first time he’s fished the Olympic Peninsula Derby and he says he’ll be back next year.

Lake Roosevelt Producing Limits of Rainbows

Don Talbot at Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee says the rainbow fishing is still good on Lake Roosevelt. He recommends trolling small Apex lures in either purple or bright red with anywhere from a half ounce to an ounce of lead. Talbot says the fish are cruising in the top 20 feet of the water column and anglers should set the gear as much as 200 feet back from the boat to get strikes. Talbot also recommends using a K-Fly tipped with a nightcrawler if the Apex’s aren’t working. Talbot says to launch at Spring Canyon boat launch and fish the lower six to eight of the lake just above Grand Coulee Dam.

Steelhead Showing in the Cowlitz

Derek Anderson from Screamin’ Reels Guide Service reports that a few of the “B” run steelhead are starting to show up in the Cowlitz. He said a friend of his caught three the other day and there were some fish being caught by the bank anglers at Blue Creek, as well. Anderson thinks that things will pick up the first week of March when the run typically starts to show up. The majority of the hatchery steelhead planted in the Cowlitz River now show up in the river as a late “B” run that starts in late February and goes all the way thru the end of April. These fish are big too…averaging around twelve pounds and steelhead into the upper teens aren’t uncommon.

Razor Clam Dig Scheduled for this Weekend

WDFW approved another razor clam dig for this weekend at Long Beach and Twin Harbors on the Washington coast. Today’s tide is at 5:12 p.m. and tomorrows tide is at 5:47 p.m.. Clam diggers are limited to 15 razor clams per day and are required to keep the first 15 clams they dig. Check out the WDFW website for more details.

Spring Chinook Seminar at Three Rivers Marine

Northwest salmon fishing expert Josh Hughes will be doing a spring Chinook seminar at Three Rivers Marine in Woodinville on March 9th. Hughes will cover in detail where to fish on the Columbia River for springers and exactly how to rig up to catch these prized fish. Three Rivers will also be conducting mini-clinics starting at 10:00 a.m. on everything from how to rig a cut plug herring to wrapping and tuning a Kwikfish. If you’re at all interested in fishing the Columbia and its tributaries for Chinook this spring this seminar is a must. There’s bbq’d hot dogs and soda at the event and please RSVP to let them know you’re coming.

100,000 Descend on Tulsa for the Bassmaster Classic

Approximately 100,000 people are expected at both Grand Lake and in the city of Tulsa this weekend for the 43rd annual Bassmaster Classic. It’s the first time the Bassmaster Classic has ever been held in Oklahoma and the farthest west the Classic has been in more than 30 years. The angler with the best three day bass total in the Classic wins an impressive $500,000 and much, much more in endorsements. The big story at the Classic this year is the weather. There was snow on the ground for practice during the week and temperatures are supposed to drop below freezing every night.  The cold weather didn’t slow down Mike Iaconelli and Cliff Price though, who are both tied for 1st place after day one with 21 pounds, 8 ounces apiece. 4 time Classic champion Kevin VanDam is in a very close 4th place with 19 pounds 12 ounces.

Wolf Population Doubles in Washington

According to a survey just released by WDFW the number of gray wolves in Washington has nearly doubled in the past year. The survey found at least 51 wolves in 9 packs in Washington state. In 2011 there was just 27 wolves in the state. Bioligists suspect that there are two additional wolf packs in the state and think there could be as many as 100 wolves in Washington state.

Russian’s Crowned Ice Fishing Champions

From the A.P. – The Russian’s just took the gold medal in the World Ice Fishing Championships in Central Wisconsin last weekend. Eleven teams from around the world competed Saturday and Sunday on Beg Eau Pleine Reservoir near Wausau. The Finland ice fishing team took 2nd place, Lithuania took 3rd, and the the U.S. team took fourth place despite having the “home ice” advantage. Last year the ice fishing championships were held in Khazahkstan where the U.S. team took 11th place.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

It’s in Your Hands, Don’t Put it in Theirs

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By Jeff Lund

Wednesday I picked up my new Remington shotgun. I paid for it eleven days prior, and since the computer searched the vast nothingness that is my criminal record and found nothing, I was able to begin the latest chapter in my life as a responsible gun owner.

My parents wouldn’t even allow me to go hunting or get a gun unless I took a hunter safety course, which instilled in me the importance of understanding purpose. It is now my unwritten, assumed duty, to never treat any weapon as a toy and use it only in a lawful manner on bright orange discs, ducks, or upland game.
Easy.

But it’s not so simple. I started thinking over the past week and a half about this waiting period. People believe that as long as guns, particularly handguns, are a part of a free society, there will always be violence as if before bullets, everyone got along. Following tragedies stemming from negligence or extreme malice there is usually a cry for someone to do something. That usually falls to the government and politicians with crisp suits and public relation talking points. We live in a free country, but thanks to our violence problem, our idiot problem, our gang problem and our law enforcement funding problem, we suffer.

The Centers for Disease Control reported 11,493 homicide deaths in 2009 and that number hardly covers the true impact. Then comes the debate.

The NRA likes to promote that the national murder rate is the lowest in almost half a century. News organizations and blogs like to cite a study by the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery that found among the world’s 23 wealthiest countries, 80 percent of all gun deaths are American deaths.

The gun stats are tragic, there is absolutely no doubt, but is a more tightly gripped federal hand on a Constitutional right the answer? According to Forbes the United States sits behind Qatar, Luxembourg, Singapore, Norway, Brunei, and the United Arab Emirates in per capita wealth. (Talk about oil and natural gas dependancy). If we compare ourselves to those countries in one statistical category, we should also look at the context and consider if the comparative alternative is better. Luxembourg is wealthy and has less violent crime, it also has a population of 517,000.

Should we be more like No. 3 Singapore where in 1994 a 19-year old American was caned as punishment. His crime? Vandalism. Can you imagine the protests if United States judges levied beatings for convicts? Recently a Qatari poet was sentenced to life in prison for criticizing his government. Probably not a lot of gun control issues in that wealthy country where freedom is sacrificed in favor of control. Those are two extreme examples, but aren’t the extreme examples what get advocates for change riled up in the first place?

Japan has almost eliminated gun-related homicides by outlawing everything except shotguns and air rifles. Maybe we should do that, forbid people to get their hands on guns, especially handguns and close down most of the 50,812 retail gun dealers (209,750 jobs) held by Americans in the firearm industry.

But this issue isn’t simple stats. It’s about the principle of freedom, and the risk-reward of making weapons available to citizens. It sounds cold and heartless to say something to the effect of needing to take the good with the bad but if we look to the government rather than to ourselves, we will continually have federal blankets that suffocate our freedoms. When we collectively favor government control over self-responsibility and self-management we lose.

A by-product of freedom, is freedom, and the results are some of the most awful, excruciatingly painful aspects of being an American. It takes a toll on all of us, especially those whom are directly impacted.

And yes, someone (individuals) must do something (be responsible) in order for liberty to survive.

You have my promise.

–
Jeff Lund
Teacher/Freelance Writer
Columnist – Manteca Bulletin
Manteca, California
website – www.jlundoutdoors.com

Sunglasses You Can Hide Behind

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If you’re looking for a Chistmas gift for the sportsman in your life or just want some super cool shades look no further than Costa’s new lineup of polarized sunglasses in AP Realtree camo.

Costa’s camo series is available in their popular Fantail, Blackfin, Double Haul, and Zane frames and of course you can also get them with uber-schwanky 580P glass lenses for the ultimate in color enhancement and glare reduction.

Costa’s 580P glass allows maximum depth perception and light transmission in the early morning and late afternoon when animals and fish are most active and these lenses provide maximum glare reduction.

I know this firsthand because I wear them nearly every day on the ocean in Alaska and when I’m river fishing in Washington where it seems like we have “low light” conditions more often than not. Even on those rainy, drizzly days we’re famous for here in the Pacific Northwest it’s surprising how much glare is cast off the water.

Now I’m all fired up to try the new Costa Realtree camo shades in the duck blind and in the fern-choked blacktail woods of Washington. If they can give me even the slightest edge detecting an elusive blacktail buck in the early morning darkness I’m all over it.

If you haven’t done it already click on over to Costa AP Realtree Camo and snoop around. You can bet these sweet shades will be on my Christmas list!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

 

Northwest Outdoor Report

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Clam Dig Next Weekend
WDFW just announced another razor clam dig next week. Twin Harbors beach will be open Tuesday thru Saturday, and on Thursday Long Beach will open up and over the weekend Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, and Mocrocks beaches will all be open for razor clamming. Clamming generally starts two hours before the low tide in the evening.

Black Friday Trout Fishing Special
If you’d rather go fishing than shopping the day after Thanksgiving then WDFW has the deal for you. They’ll be planting Battleground Lake and Klineline Pond in Clark County, Kress Lake in Cowlitz County, Fort Borst Park Pond and South Lewis County Park Pond in Lewis County, and Rowland Lake in Klickitat County with 2,000 rainbows apiece. Chris Donley from WDFW called the Black Friday fishery an experiment that could lead to similar events in other parts of the state.

Southwest Washington Elk Opener Toughest in Years
Mike Jenkins from Upfront Outfitters (360-560-7620) said that fog descended on his camps in Southwest Washington just in time for the elk opener. He said the fog spotting elk nearly impossible and that the success rate for the entire area hit an all time low. The upside is that the last part of the season could be very good for elk hunters, since there’s a bunch of bulls still out there and hunter numbers are generally low the latter part of the season. Jenkins thinks the drop in temperature this week could make hunting very good!

Silvers Piling into the Humptulips
Scott Sypher from Canyon Man’s Guide Service (206-518-4982) is reporting wide open coho fishing out on the Humptulips the last few days. He limited out his customers quickly Thursday morning throwing #4 and #5 hoochie spinners into the lumber. Sypher says that gold and copper spinners seemed to be the best color. The Humptulips has a 3 fish daily limit for silvers this fall, only one of which can be a wild coho.

Ranker Digging into Wolf Pack Removal
Senator Kevin Ranker from Friday Harbor, who chairs a committee that oversees WDFW, says he’s going to hold a hearing about the department’s decision to remove the Wedge wolf pack in Northeast Washington last month. The wedge wolf pack had killed two cattle and injured 15 others on the Diamond M ranch north of Colville before the department made the decision to remove the pack. He thinks officials and the rancher could have done more to deter the wolves from attacking cattle. While he won’t be asking for resignations or reprimands, he will be using the hearing to more clearly clarify the states position on wolf removal and make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Pikeminnow Angler earns 77,000
Portland angler Nikolay Zaremskiy earned $77, 238 last year catching pikeminnows from the Columbia River. The state has a bounty on the pikeminnow in the Columbia, which has a voracious appetite for salmon and steelhead smolts. It’s the second year in a row that Zaremskiy has earned over $70,000 dollars catching pikeminnows. Last year he earned over $71,000 dollars. Eric Winther, who manages the program, called him the Michael Jordan of pikeminnow fishing. The bounty program starts in early May and runs thru September and last year it dished out over one million in rewards.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Northwest Outdoor Report

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Man Loses Eye Shooting at Salmon
A 51 year old man is recovering from injuries he received while shooting at salmon with a .22 caliber rifle on the Deschutes River near Olympia last Sunday. The man took a shot at what he thought was going to be dinner, only the bullet hit a rock and ricocheted back hitting him in the head. KIRO News talked to the man’s mother in law, who said she thought he was going to lose his sight in one eye from the accident. The maximum fine for shooting a salmon with a gun is up to one year in jail.

Mean Mountain Goats Paintballed in Olympic Park
The Mount Ellinor trail in the Olympic National Park just reopened after being closed since July 3rd due to a rash of mountain goat sightings. One wouldn’t think that mountain goats would pose a problem, but in 2010 a mountain goat killed a hiker in the park and the Forest Service isn’t taking any chances. Since the closure Forest Service employee Kurt Aluzas has been using paintballs, repellent and yelling and screaming to clear goats from the trail. The goats have become aggressive from years of feeding by hikers on the trail, a practice the Forest Service says need to stop. The trail is now open again and hikers are advised to stand their ground and yell at the goats if they are confronted.

Sekiu Awash with Silver Salmon
Jackie Tonzales at Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311) in Sekiu says the silver salmon fishing is nothing short of amazing there right now. She weighed in a 24 pound hatchery coho at the resort last night and a 35 pound king salmon was also weighed in yesterday. She says people are catching limits of coho all day long in front of Sekiu and even the beach fishing has been outstanding. Jackie says anglers fishing off the jetty in front of the resort and off the beach in Clallam Bay are finding limits of silvers in the 10 to 12 pound range. Olson’s is having a king and silver derby at the resort next weekend with $4500 in cash and prizes. Tickets can be purchased at the resort for $15. With such great fishing they expect a big crowd at the event.

October Caddis Hatch Underway on the Yakima
Mike Canady at Reds Fly Shop (509-933-2300) on the Yakima River says the October Caddis hatch is just getting started in the upper reaches of the Yakima River. He says the best hatches have been around the farmlands above the canyon, but he expects the hatch to spread up and down the river as water temperatures continue to cool down. Canady’s heard of rainbows up to 19 inches on the river this past week. October is typically one of the best months to dry fly fish on the Yakima River because of the huge caddis hatch that happens there every fall.

Wenatchee Fire Update
Mick Mueller from Incident Command on the Wenatchee Fire Complex says that crew have made significant progress this past week on the fires surrounding Wenatchee. He reports that  most of the Chiwawa River road is now open and the Entiat River road is also open 25 miles up from the mouth of the river.  The south side of Lake Chelan is also now open. Mueller says the area east of Highway 97 on Blewett Pass, however, is still closed from Liberty over to Ruby Creek and that the Table Mountain fire has been acting up again with the recent winds. He urges anyone planning to hunt in a burned area to be very away of fire spotting. Hunters travelling to the area for opening day of deer season should visit www.inciweb.org for updates on fire status and road and area closures.

River Days at Defiance Marine
Don’t forget to stop by Defiance Marine next to the Bremerton Airport today for River Days. The event is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features river fishing seminars, screaming deals on tackle, and a tackle swap meet to unload some of your old gear. The event will feature special guests Bob Kratzer from Anglers Guide Service, a representative from custom rod builder Batson Enterprises, James Beasley from Wicked Lures, and Rob Endsley and Duane Inglin from the Outdoor Line will be at the store to do seminars and answer questions. Attendance is free for this fun event!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

My 2011 Washington Blacktail

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I spent five days hunting whitetails and mule deer in Eastern Washington last week in what can only be described as sun bathing weather. Not exactly the type of conditions that produce great deer hunting. I saw plenty of deer, including 9 bucks, but there were no shooters in the bunch. Lots of marching, climbing, hiking, sweating, hobbling, and scratching my head with nothing to show for it except a stubborn sinus infection and sore feet.

Before I headed back to the wet side of the Cascades my insincere final words to the guys in camp were, “No worries…I’ll be able to hunt blacktails for the rest of the season.”

Sure, I could hunt blacktails for the rest of the season and even the late season for that matter, but the “no worries” part wasn’t exactly true. Getting a quality blacktail in the Amazon-like under-scrub jungle in Western Washington isn’t easy duty. I knew exactly what I was up against.

There aren’t too very many people that know exactly where I hunt blacktails and I plan on keeping it that way. Heck, one of my very best friends and partner in the Outdoor Line doesn’t even know where I hunt deer in Eastern Washington after 20 years of asking. I can tell you what types of habitat to look for to find a blacktail, however, as there are plenty of blacktails in Western Washington and that’s a huge leg up in successfully hunting them.

Finding blacktails requires an understanding of what type of habitat they call home. The good thing is that there’s a lot of that type of habitat here in Western Washington. The down side is that not all of it is festooned with these elusive deer. Finding a good spot requires putting boots on the ground and doing some scouting.

Look for clear cuts that are anywhere from 3 to 10 years old and locate as many of these types of clear cuts as you can, so you have a few to bounce around to throughout the season. Blacktails are browse feeders and they love to munch on all the underbrush that sprouts up in these age-class of clear cuts and the cover is not yet thick enough to totally conceal deer when they’re out and about.

Are blacktails using the cut? Look for tracks on the roads that surround the clear cut from blacktails leaving the timber to feed at night. This is an obvious sign that critters are in the neighborhood. A second clue is the prescense of rubs around or in the clear cut from rutting bucks.

You’ll see them when you’re walking around the edge of the cut and also watch for them on small trees in the middle of the clear cuts when you’re glassing them. A few rubs is a good sign and a lot of fresh rubs is money in the bank.

Once you find a clear cut that’s being used by blacktails you can either sit and wait for them to move or slowly still hunt your way around the area. I like a combination of both techniques.

I’ll usually find a perch that offers a good view, which is usually a very uncomfortable splinter-filled stump, and glass for a while watching for movement in the cut. If nothing happens within an hour, or so, I’ll begin still hunting my way either around or thru the cut.

If you’re going to still hunt for blacktails you need to be uber-conscious of the wind and scent control. Hunting blacktails in the brush usually means close quarters hunting and most shots are less than 100 yards. I’ve taken two quality Washington blacktails in the past three years and as luck would have it I had the wind at my back for both of them. If I wasn’t wearing Tek-4 clothing and persistently washing my hunting duds in Scent-A-Way I guarantee that I wouldn’t have had a chance at either of those bucks.

Image of a Washington blacktail deer taken with a Browning 30.06

To learn more about scent control check out this blog that I wrote back in September aptly named “Ten Tips for Better Scent Control”.

Having more than one clear cut to hunt came into play yesterday. I usually mountain bike in behind locked gates and when I found a truck parked at my first choice yesterday morning I didn’t waste any time heading for another area.

I worked my way into a productive area at my second stop, glassed from an uncharacteristically comfortable stump for around 30 minutes and then began still hunting my way thru the cut. From past experience I knew there was a small trail that sliced thru the cut and I slowly worked my way down it. There were fresh deer tracks literally everywhere!

It didn’t take long to run into them feeding in a small draw in the cut. Three does and a really small 2 point were 50 yards off the trail and I watched them feed for a while before slinking off.

There were no rubs and I didn’t see one set of tracks that jumped out as being a big buck so I moved on to the next clear cut.

This clear cut was about ten years old, with reprod growing eight to 12 feet high. It was tight cover, but offered some openings and was a perfect place to do some rattling. I still hunted my way to the center of the cut and then rattled for a couple minutes to see what might pop up. After 30 minutes of waiting I moved on, only to jump two blacktail does just fourty feet from my rattling position. Still, there were no rubs in the entire cut and I felt I needed to make another move.

I drove back to the gate that I had intended on parking at in the morning and now there were two trucks parked there. Ugh!

Off to yet another cut and by now it was lunch time. I had talked to a land owner the previous evening who had a deer “problem” and my plan was to head for his place later in the day for an evening hunt. Offers like that just don’t present themselves every day and I was already imagining a pasture full of blacktails. His problem…my delight!

So, I would quickly hunt this heavily-trafficked clear cut to kill some time before heading to the private land. Just killing time…right!

I left the bike in the truck and basically stomped my way into the cut, figuring I would slow down and get the wind in my face towards the back of the huge cut furthest from the busy road where the deer might be hanging out. Less than a quarter mile in there were fresh tracks all over the place. Does, bucks, yearlings…tracks exactly where they shouldn’t be!

This clear cut was shaped like a big “J” and my plan was to cross the largest part of the cut and thoroughly hunt the small part of it where I’d seen deer last year. In doing so I’d lay down a phat RUN AWAY scent trail for any deer in the largest area of the cut. I’d have to put some faith in the scent control measures I’ve been pestering about.

Without knowing it I crossed the clear cut just 50 yards up-wind of this blacktail buck and he had no clue I was there. I took a hard left at the timber and worked my way to a low rise that would give me a view of a small draw in the long part of the cut and there he was. 50 yards away and looking at me…trying to figure out what I was.

I only had a head and neck shot and the buck even gave me time to turn my Burris up to 9 power before I sent the 150 grain 30.06 Winchester XP3 where it needed to go. It was a nice clean kill and we would have fresh venison in the freezer this winter!

Since I was hunting solo I would now have the joy of packing this animal that weighed in excess of 150 pounds over a mile back to the truck by ma’sef. Should I quarter it up and make two trips with the frame pack or just drag it back to the truck cave-man style? I opted for the latter, which should be no surprise. After a few grunts and clicks off I went…50 steps at a time.

An hour and fifteen minutes later I was whooped, but my worn-out self and this heavy-bodied blacktail were in the truck and we were headed for Farmer Georges. Joe Keen, the butcher there, would do the honor of producing steaks, hamburger, and summer sausage for us and he does a fine job of it. Gotta love the small town meat shop!

It helps to be in shape for this sort of thing. Back at the truck with everything stowed nicely in the Truck Vault!

If you think it’s too late in the season to get a blacktail that’s hardly the case. Blacktails are just now coming into the rut and the latter part of the general season and the late season in November can be the best times to hunt these elusive deer. Even if you aren’t successul in finding a good blacktail this week the time you spend in the woods right now can pay off when the late hunt comes around in a few weeks. Deploy some of the tips I’ve given you here and start building up your blacktail knowledge base!

Best of luck to you this hunting season and don’t forget to post your hunting photos and questions in the Outdoor Line Hunting Forum. Ciao…for now!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Selecting a Trail Camera

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BY NICK HARTMAN. Picking a Trail Camera is never a black and white decision.  There are dozens of trail camera manufacturers, each one with many different models to choose from.  So how do you know which camera will work for you? 

The single most important consideration is how you plan on using your new trail camera?  Is it going to simply watch a feeder?  Or will it be on a game trail, a scrape, food plot or you may even want to use it to see who is breaking into your cabin?  If you don't know the answer to that question, then you will want a camera that is versatile and can be used for all of the above.

There are three basic aspects to look for in a camera; Detection circuit, picture quality and battery life.  Once you start looking at cameras individually, you will notice there are dozen of smaller factors, but camera quality can usually be broken down into these three categories.

Detection Circuit
Detection circuits, at its most basic level, consist of Trigger Speed, Recovery Time and the Detection Zone (which is the combined detection width, detection angle and detection range).

Trigger speed is merely the time it takes a camera to take a picture of a subject when it "activates" the camera.  These times can range from 0.2 seconds to 4 or 5 seconds.  Why is trigger speed important?  Well, a slow trigger speed can mean missing a ton of animals as they walk or run by.  Just consider how far you can move in 4 to 5 seconds.  You could easily nearly walk out of the field of view in that time with just a brisk walking pace!

Recovery time is the time it takes a camera to store a picture and ready itself for the next activation.  These can range from sub-1 second, to 60 seconds.  A 60 second recovery time is no big deal if you are watching a feeder.  However, a game trail is a different story.  Think of this scenario. It is early November and the rut is in full swing.  You check your trail camera to only find pictures of does.  Where are the bucks?!  Well, if your camera has a 60 second recovery time, the chances are pretty high that the buck was trailing those does by just a few seconds.  How many times have you seen a buck chase a doe in the rut?  Almost constantly!  So, recovery time is of utmost importance for game trail surveillance.

The detection zone of a camera is merely the area in front of the camera that it is capable of "sensing."  Cuddeback cameras have a very narrow detection zone, which is fine if you are pointing at a feeder.  However, a wide detection zone covers a much larger area and is much more desirable on food plots or open fields.

The most capable and versatile (and expensive) trail cameras have quick trigger speeds, quick recovery times and large detection zones.

Bushnell Trophy Cam detection zone test, TrailCamPro.com

Picture Quality
Picture quality refers to the quality of picture both during the day and at night.  Day pictures can be very subjective.  If you are like me, I merely want to know what walked in front of my camera.  I don't plan on framing it, I just want to know what it was, how big it is and when it came by.  Some folks want to blow the picture up and frame it.  There is no right or wrong way of thinking; it simply comes down to what YOU will be using the camera for.  The best way to judge picture quality is by looking at sample photos.

Infrared cameras and Incandescent cameras take drastically different night photos.  Infrared cameras are black/white and depend heavily on the individual camera for how bright and clear the picture will be.  Also, infrared cameras will produce blur with movement (the amount of blur also depends on the individual camera).  Incandescent cameras take beautiful color pictures.  However, they use more battery and they have the tendency to spook game much more so than an infrared camera.  Once again, you need to look at sample photos to see what will work for you. (Mouse over photos below) 

 Infrared trail camera flashIncandescent trail camera flash

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Battery Life
Experienced trail camera enthusiasts may tell you the first thing to look for in a camera is battery life.  Why?  It can be expensive to change batteries every 2 weeks!  Many modern cameras can run for 3-4 months on a set of batteries while some still struggle to maintain a few weeks of battery life.

One thing I would always recommend, when available, is to use rechargeable batteries (I'm stepping on my soapbox – beware!).  Look, if you are reading this article, you are obviously an outdoor enthusiast.  We love the outdoors, we love wildlife and maybe more than that, we love to pass it on to the next generation.  They make high-quality rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (Nimh) batteries that can be charged up to 1,000 times.  They also get the same, if not better, battery life (especially in cold weather) than your typical alkaline battery.  Over the course of a rechargeable batteries life, think of the amount of batteries you have prevented from finding its way into a landfill.  Not convinced?  A quality charger and a set of Nimh batteries cost roughly what you would pay for two sets of alkaline batteries.  By your third charge, you are making money.  Rechargeable batteries are a no-brainer.

Overall
As you can see, so much of buying the right camera comes down to how you will use the camera.  If you are unsure, a good bet would be to buy a versatile camera that is solid in all aspects.  Another aspect is how much money you would like to spend.  It is unreasonable to expect to get the perfect camera (which doesn't exist) for under $100.  However, there are quality cameras at each price point, each one offering something a little better as you go up.  Once again, consider what you will be using it for.  You don't need a $500 camera to watch a feeder, you can easily get by with a $125 camera.  However, if you are putting a camera up in the mountains, under severe weather, knowing that something may only walk by once a day or even worse, once a week….  Can you really afford not to have the quickest, most battery efficient and most durable camera watching that spot? 

A good resource, to see the different ratings of the trail cameras, is to look over our different tests (which can be found at http://www.trailcampro.com/trailcameratests.aspx).  This is black and white information, with no commentary attached.  Once you have narrowed it down to a few cameras that would suit your needs, read the review on your individual camera (which you can find here – http://www.trailcampro.com/reviews.aspx).  This will put all the information together and provide commentary on the in's and outs of the different cameras.

I hope this article has provided some insight in the basics of buying a trail camera.  I am always open to answering any questions (you can email me at nick@trailcampro.com) you may have.  I greatly appreciate the Outdoor Line letting me rant on like this.  I wish everyone a safe hunting season and happy scouting!

Nick Hartman
TrailCamPro.com