Let The Games Begin...

Last year during hunting season I saw the best crop of younger bucks I can ever recall. They were not jaw droppers by any means, but they still had potential to make some jumps this year.
Now, to be fair, our hunting property generally doesn't hold mature bucks. It never has. They come around for the ladies; we make it that way, and are fine with keeping it that way. After a few months of getting quite a few mature does on camera I was satisfied with the typical ‘wait and see’ approach. That is until I checked my trail camera a few weekends ago… 

A Ghost from Seasons Past

My Dad noticed that we had some new crabapple trees producing fruit for the first time in a long time, so I went and checked it out. After seeing some quality buck mud, I popped up a cam. Much to my surprise, a ghost decided to make an appearance. The buck I call Beefy (Beefaroni).

He showed up last year along a pine tree scrape that my brother put a camera over. We were instantly impressed with not only his antler size, but body size. He looked more like a beef cow, hence the nickname Beefy.

From my estimation I would say he is a 5.5 year old buck, which around our parts is like being a 40 year old playing for a Community College football team! If a buck makes 3.5 around our parts it is above the curve.

After checking the camera again this weekend and looking at some fresh tracks in plowed fields (thanks to the recent rain), I know where he is coming and going from; but I have only one way to close the distance on him.
I believe he is living about ½ a mile west of our property in either a long timber cut or a homestead grove. Regardless, that is not Swanson territory. My only option would be to intercept him along his route by hoping he slips up and crosses the open field in shooting light, and skirts by cover. With that said, I still think it is going to take a hot doe to pull him out of his night to night pattern. I feel that all I can try and do is be at the right place at the right time with this buck!

A New Hope

Another shooter buck that has been appearing regular on my cams is this very nice 12 pointer that I nicknamed ‘Twelf’. I would say he is around 3.5 and I would be tickled to take him with bow or rifle. The best part about this deer, besides matching split G2’s, is that he has already started showing up during shooting light! I am also very confident that he stays in our woods. Based on the times he is appearing for photo shoots, he would have to be in our woods or extremely close by in a CRP slough. So keeping my expectations moderate, I would say he provides me the best opportunity to fill my bow tag.

What Does That Cloud Look Like to You?

I came across a very interesting topic today; a discussion based on deer movement and clouds. It was a blog post from Outdoor Life, and a follow-up to a wind direction and wind speed article. I thought it was worth a link:
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/2011/09/whitetail-tips-how-cloud-cover-affects-deer-movement

What I found very interesting was the preceding post on how wind and barometric pressure relate to deer movement. 29 is the barometric pressure number that I, along with most hunters, are familiar with. Rising and falling from this number is thought to spur deer up on their feet during daylight hours.
"The stronger the wind speed, the quicker barometric pressure will rise and after it subsides is the time to be out. After checking more than 100 Pope and Young records of 170+ bucks against weather conditions 8-12 hours before harvest, I found that a tremendous amount were taken after a wind of at least 30 mph had dropped to 10 mph.".
Now, I would really like to know what 'tremendous' equates to, but it is still something to file away.

As a general rule I try and get out before a front rolls through assuming deer will be on their feet and moving. But, what I really like about this article is that is actually throws some time frames out to use as an additional gauge. I also like the concept of clockwise wind changes.
Anyone have thoughts or journal entries that back this information up??

~Swany

Snow White, But There is No Dwarfs...

This was way too cool not to share. Nature is an amazing thing indeed.
http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=8852&et_mid=517084&rid=3447483

The thing I find very interesting is that I had always heard Albino bucks really didn't, or couldn't grow tremendous racks. But this guys is a beast!

So in Native American lore, Albino animals were considered sacred and would not be killed. What would you do???

North Dakota Game and Fish Impresses

During spring Turkey season I happened across a few unlucky turkeys that fell victim to their slots in the food chain. As I was looking at the carcasses one of the birds was sporting some extra accessories: a North Dakota Game and Fish band! I was pretty excited since, through all my adventures, I have never taken a banded bird.

Through email I was able to get in touch with Stan Kohn, the Upland Game Management Supervisor for the NDGF. He responded to me with the following information on the bird that I found:

"Turkey with band number 6582 was part of a flock of 34 birds that were trapped from private land south of Center, Oliver County, on 12 Dec. 2010.  A landowner was having some depredation problems with turkeys and we decided to remove some birds from his property.  This bird was sexed/aged as a juvenile male and banded with band number 6582.  All thirty four birds, including this juv. male, were transported to the Little Heart Bottoms on 12 Dec. and released.  We have had one other bird from this group reported as dead, probably from predation.  We have had several observations of banded birds from this group still on the Little Heart Bottoms so it doesn’t look like the birds have traveled too far from their release site.

Thanks much for reporting the band.  It helps us track the status of this group of birds."

So I wanted to take a minute today to say thanks to Stan and the NDGF. I may not have gotten my bird this year but I still took home a trophy!

Is Baiting Worth the Fuss?

I am running through some of my old articles and wanted to get them updated to my blog for posterity sake. This article was originally published on mnoutdoorsman:
http://mnoutdoorsman.com/forums/index.php?page=Is%20Baiting%20Worth%20the%20Fuss?

Is Baiting Worth the Fuss?
By Jeremy Swanson


I try to read as much as my schedule allows, and for that reason I have three different subscriptions to hunting related magazines. My wife considers this overkill, so I try to reassure her that I am doing my economic deed for the print industry. Besides that, they are great publications and a good hunter has to stay informed! 

A subject that has been recently making the rounds in the outdoor community is the topic of baiting. This is a prime, hot button, issue in the world of the whitetail that creates strong opinions on each side of the fence. Nationally, 28 states ban the practice in any form, while 22 allow it. In my neck of the woods, just crossing the border into North Dakota from Minnesota will provide completely different perspectives and rules on the issue. 

Whether used as a noun or verb, bait is considered to be a lure or temptation. Those words are the real crux of the debate. The 2009 Minnesota Hunting Regulations define what the MNDNR considers to be bait, and it boils down to any type of food placed by a human to attract or entice deer for purpose of killing the animal. The regulations also expand and clarify that food plots or land management activity doesn't constitute baiting. (Please click here to read them for yourself.) So following the direction given in the yearly regulations, there is a clearly defined right and wrong way to increase your odds for hunting success. 

The Minnesota DNR released its 2009 baiting numbers back in January and the numbers did not shock me at all. 
o    Overall, 545 baiting complaints during the 2009 deer seasons (archery, firearms, muzzleloader), resulted in 129 citations being issued and 140 firearms seized.
o    Half of the citations led to additional hunting violations ranging from tagging or tag validation violations, no licenses, and trespass.
o    Apples, corn, and sugar beets dispersed in open areas figured in over 80% of deer baiting cases.
o    Officers reported that nearly 60% of the hunters who were cited for violations admitted to conservation officers that they knew baiting was illegal, but chose to do it anyway.
o    Almost 50% of the persons cited admitted they were fully aware of baiting regulations through DNR Enforcement Division news releases, media reports, or the Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook.   

Looking at the above information it seems to me the lure of bait is just as much a temptation for hunters as it is for deer!

In a recent article in one of my magazines a well publicized hunter, and outspoken advocate for the outdoors, said supporters of baiting bans were “...strange, selfish, unsophisticated, and small-minded…”.  To me this is very sad commentary on respecting others opinions. I am certain that you will get a much different opinion from Minnesota hunters in the Bovine Tuberculosis zones, Michigan hunters dealing with Chronic Wasting Disease, or hunters in the South losing deer to Blue Tongue.

Much like sniffling noses in daycares all over the place, nose to nose contact in the whitetail world is going to spread disease. Now to be clear, I am not silly enough to believe baiting is the lone reason for an increase in numbers of diseases or mortality linked to them; deer will always have nose to nose contact in the wild. But bait piles do concentrate deer travel and will significantly narrow the proximity with one another. If and when a disease takes hold it can quickly spill over into the shared ecosystem affecting the entire herd. Even worse it could affect local livestock. When you start losing livestock, and the money tied into them, your problem just got bumped from coach to first class. 

Questions on ethics and fair chase are typically included in baiting conversations, but for the sake of simplicity I am going to steer clear of the hunting over bait topic. Let’s keep the thought on this more black and white. “If you wanna play, you gotta pay” is a saying that my father always uses to point out the potential consequence of actions. People who are breaking laws by baiting do so at their own risk, and as the DNR numbers above point out, there are many gamblers among us. Laws can seem arbitrary and antiquated at times, but that doesn’t change the fact that they remain a code of conduct for us all to follow. To draw a line in the sand and say that Joe Hunter can plant 9 apple trees on his hunting property, but that he cannot dump 9 five gallon bucks of apples in a pile can lead to a heated argument very quickly. Some may question what the difference actually is in the grand scheme of things; after all, the end result could very well turn out to be the same. But if that is the law, isn’t the difference clear enough?

To me, land management is not only the right way to increase your opportunity for hunting success, but it is also the best route to strengthen wildlife management locally and nationally. Plus, it is the straight up legal way. Elements involved in land management significantly benefit a deer herd. Food plots provide supplemental nutrition that can drastically improve overall herd health and can form a much needed bridge to survival in hard winter months. Water holes can be tremendously helpful to deer especially in areas located far from natural water sources or that are prone to drought. Clear cutting and tree topping promotes forest growth and increases the amount of bedding opportunity in the deer woods. The list could go on but the bottom line is; all of these elements, whether alone or combined, will benefit your hunting experience and success. So knowing what a bonus land management can be for all parties involved, why is baiting still so prevalent?

Many times when I have a land management discussion with people I get four letter words thrown at me: work, land, cash, and time. These four letter words are what I view as the main reasons hunters choose illegal baiting methods over legal land management methods.
Opportunity and access to land is one major hurdle that is difficult to overcome. A lot of hunters either lease hunting rights or just have basic permission from landowners to hunt. Most times this leaves little options for food plots, clear cutting, or anything of the sort.
For those who do own land, tillable acreage on hunting property typically makes up a very small overall percentage, so food plots aren’t feasible for every situation. Plus, man made food plots also take a lot of equity (both sweat and financial), and access to equipment.
Time is also quickly turning into a currency in our hectic lives. Between work, family life, kids’ soccer practice, or whatever else you have cooking, free time is scarce; spending your free time plowing, seeding, fertilizing, and weeding looks much less attractive after busy days and weeks. So where does that leave most hunters?

If you are going to take the plunge into land management you have drive, means, commitment, and all the intangibles connected to do so. Many hunters fall short on one, two, or even all of these items. Even more find themselves torn on making a decision. Many hunters would rather bait to simplify things and increase their odds for success. That is not a cheap shot against the hunters who find themselves in that boat; it is just a fact. At the end of the day, legal or illegal, we all will hunt how we want.
The intention of this article is not to be a platform to tell people what is right and wrong, local states and government agencies will do that. But, I do hope this article serves as a brief reminder that as a hunter, and member of a larger fraternity of your peers, all of our actions have consequences that directly reflect on each other. Whether you are opposed to baiting or openly practice it, each side has a right to support their belief.

Checkmate...

So, while surfing on break today I ran across this post on Field and Stream. I am only going to say this: This will be a Father's Day or Christmas gift in the very near future. I have to make a board like this: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/field-notes/2011/05/two-locked-and-loaded-chess-sets-gun-nuts

 How about you readers, is there any other shooting or hunting related novelties that any of you out there have created?

~Swany

Smithsonian Trail Camera Thread

I ran across this photo gallery (http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/hunting/2011/03/camera-trap-photos-wild-animals-exotic-smithsonian-collection) on Field and Stream and thought it was way too cool not to link to.
The sheer variety of species on our planet is truly amazing, and it is so incredible to see how trail camera technology has opened the curtain to how they live and interact.
Who knows, maybe ol' Bigfoot will pop up one of these days!

~Swany

Who's the real Turkey?

Well, it was back to the grind this week. After two hard days of hunting and 4:30 AM wake-ups, Ryan and I stand at a 50% success rate for ND spring gobbler season.

More often than not, hunting boils down to being in the right place, at the right time. Opening turkey weekend was a great example of exactly that.



Dead body or is Wayne snoozing...



Between being oblivious to birds coming in from behind me on full strut and being on the wrong side of a wood lot drive, I just could not string  two right moves together. Also mix in that our Sunday of hunting was met with diving temps and cold spring rain and you can see I was rolling some pretty cold dice over the opener. It is a good thing I wasnt in Vegas!

One giant positive from the hunt is that Ryan and I were able to successfully call in our first group of birds to a Tom/Hen decoy set. A group of Jake's came tottering in on a string to our setup and as two of them broke off from the pack, I thought we were looking at a double. But as luck would have it, one of the birds hung up as the other committed. Ryan dumped him with a terrific shot through some brush. I pursued the shocked birds on foot, but let's face it, I am not nearly as fast as I used to be...



66" 5 point shed



Another built in bonus that goes hand in hand with spring hunting turkey is the opportunity to run across shed antlers. The trip was not 100% from the filled tag standpoint, but it was by far my most successful shed hunting excursion. We found about 14 sheds combined, and we truely weren't even looking that hard. The largest shed of the group was a 66" 5 point.

We also came across a tremendous 6 point (3x3 in ND speak) buck that appeared to have fallen to mother nature. With 21 inch main beams, it was the largest six pointer I have ever seen in the flesh. It is just too bad someone did not get a chance to put their tag on this very unique and mature buck.

Big '3'

Eventhough the winter was a hard one, overall, we saw a lot of deer moving around. Combine that with some of the quality sheds we found and there should be some very nice bucks roaming the river bottoms come hunting season.

As I type this, I am pinning my hopes on the slim chance my schedule permits a return trip to the Missouri river bottoms before the season ends. Hopefully I can even the score and not eat Turkey Tag Soup for the 3rd year in a row, but even if I cannot make it work, it was another memorable trip with a good friend!



Trail Cam Giants...

Okay, I just got back from Vegas and wanted to have a new post, but I am a little strapped for time. So, I thought I would link to a current forum thread from Minnesota Outdoorsman that could be fun to follow along with.
It is a Big Buck Trail Camera thread, and everyone likes looking at Big Bucks!
I even threw in 'Beefy' from my most wanted list; just for good measure. Enjoy!
http://mnoutdoorsman.com/forums/index.php?topic=23444.0

~Swany

Fight the Slush

Chuck "Shooster" Hasse

I got in an ice fishing discussion with a Rack Pack buddy of mine, Chuck Hasse, over email the other day. Chuck fishes Leech Lake pretty religiously and definitely knows his head from a hole in the ice. He brought up some awesome points about how extreme snow and poor ice conditions can negatively affect fish activity. I felt the points were great, and also related to other lakes so well, they should be shared with everyone.
Below is Chuck's thoughts and approach to tackling Leech Lake, but as you read through, you will see that this information and tactics will roll-over to other lakes like Lake of the Woods very well. 

"I would say 90% of the fishing we do on leech is done on the sand flats. The key is to find the weed growth adjacent to sand/gravel bottoms. These are typically the routes that fish follow and are using to feed on baitfish, crayfish, bloodworms, etc. Each year, weed growth varies from spot to spot depending on temp change, snow cover, and sunlight. All of which have a direct result in an area being very good for active fish one year, but poor the next."

"The amounts of snow on the ice affect a number of things. Oxygen levels and weed growth are the main two. The less sun that gets through the ice, the faster weeds die off and faster oxygen in a lake becomes depleted. Once you start depleting the oxygen levels, the fish start to become more lethargic. Once they are lethargic, you need to do some massive searching to find some active fish."

"It’s a constant stream of searching for the most part, but once you find them, you can typically stay on a bite for quite a while, sometimes even for a month or two until conditions change. But this year is met with more challenges. Leech is 115k acres, so if that area is restricted by snow, slush, water and poor ice conditions makes it very tough on everything to be able to stay mobile."


"It’s just a chain reaction of all the effects snow and slush have on a lake of that size."


So, if you are struggling to find the fish on your favorite ice fishing haunt, whip out the lake chip, get mobile (if you can) and go on the hunt.

Mission Accomplished...sort of

Well, back to the grind this week after a relaxing weekend fishing Lake of The Woods. We were greeted Thursday evening with less than desirable snow conditions, and we weren't able to get the house pulled to my brother's preferred location. So, we chose to set up where we could and gave it the best shot we had.

Afternoon snooze...

We trudged through three slow days of fish activity, and although theVexilar showed a fair amount of activity below the holes, there were way more lookers than takers. The majority of our keepers were caught on just a plain hook and minnow setup. All those expensive jigs, spoons, darters, and whatchamacallits weren't a match for old school flair.
As normal, there were a few missed fish along the way, if we could have added the missed fish to the overall total it would have been a more gratifying number!
Listening to other people who were up there over the weekend, it did sound like other spots on the lake were more productive.

Pout Pride

The good news from the weekend: I partially fulfilled the "Burbout Quest", and he was delicious!. The bad news: I was 6" short of reaching my 30" goal. I ended up pulling in a chunky 24" Pout at 6:00pm Friday evening.There is always next trip!

One note: We ran into a guy at the Springsteel Bar who pulled in the biggest Eel Pout I have ever heard of, or seen. He had a picture on his smart phone and reluctantly let us take a peek. Cell phone camera's aren't the best and perspective in a photo can be questionable, but I would conservatively say the fish was 40" long, and probably topped the scale about 25-30 pounds. Easily the new MN state record...and he put it back down the hole! He wouldn't send the picture to anyone because he didn't want it plastered all of the web, but when it does start floating around (and it will), you can say you heard of it first on The Rack Pack!

Rock's 1st L.O.W Walleye

After it was said and done, it was another great trip that was filled with a lot of laughs, a little bit of adventure (who knew tailer lights on a fish house weren't optional?!), and a few bags of fish in the freezer. Thanks go to my brother Mike for making it all happen, my lovely wife for letting me go, and to Rock and Skeimer for spending time on the ice with me. If things shake out, maybe I can resurrect the 30" Burbout Quest one more time this year...


~Swany

Burb, Burb, Burb, Burbout's the word!

As I am typing this, I am running through a mental checklist of items I need to get ready for my annual Lake of The Woods ice fishing trip. With money, time, 'Honey Do' lists, and fatherhood all factoring in, this might be the only trip I make up there this year.

As always, the main goals I hit the road with is creating memories with my brother and friends, to catch some fish to bring home and eat, and to kick back for a few days and relax. This year though, I go with an new goal in mind...

It's my goal to catch a 30" or better Burbout, and if that happens...
I am going to put it on the wall!!
  

Yes, you read that right: A Burbout hanging on the Man Den wall.
Most fishermen would rather have a Walleye or Northerrn adorning their trophy room, but I of course have my own drummer at times.
I want to wrangle in a a slimy, growling, mean and nasty Eel Pout to show off. The Rodney Dangerfield of MN lakes if you will.

No, I am not out of my mind. Thousands of attendees to the Eel Pout Festival in Walker MN every year can't be wrong, can they?

(speaking of The Eel Pout Fest, check out the link to learn more and consider checking it out: http://www.eelpoutfestival.com/)

I did catch a dandy Burbout a few years back, but didn't think about the possibility of mounting it until it was already cooking in the pot. That's hindsight for ya.

Here is my Top 4 reasons to praise the Pout:

1. Rough and Tough - The two Burbout I have caught in my life (through the ice) really threw some punches on the way out of the hole. Besides that, the real fun happens when they hit the deck and you have to get them off the hook!
2. Taste - Poor Man's Lobster. Period. Boiled Backstraps+Drawn Butter = Crazy Delicious
3. Beauty - Their colors coming out of the ice are amazing. Green/Yellow/Purple/Glossy Black...tons of character! (I would even argue I would be the only person in the Tri-state area that would have a mounted Eel Pout.)
4. Mystique - Some anglers have never seen a live one, let alone caught one. Other anglers hate them because they don't know any better.

So, Thursday I leave for the big lake and my hopes are high. I will be sure to keep you updated on the 'hunt' for my wall hanger. My luck I will just catch a 30" Walleye instead...

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs...

A recent debate I read on a web-forum revolved around the image to the right (awesome shot by the photographer!).

 

 

Courtesy of 'divingduck2006' of www.fishingbuddy.com

Posted Property is always a hot button issue for the modern era hunter. High hunter concentration throughout MN and ND makes finding a chunk of private property a challenge for those that aren't lucky enough to own land. I plan on writing a full article on this subject, but here is the question for today.

This posted sign has no land owner signature, is semi obstructed, and clearly has seen more than one winter in its time.

So, what would you do if you saw this posted sign and behind it was the biggest buck of your life at 100 yards? Or maybe you saw a whole mess of pheasants flush into that slough? I am not shocked that some on the forum members didn't hesitate and honestly stated they would go onto the property because it wasn't a 'legal' sign.

Everyone has different levels of respect for boundaries, and personally, I would not access that property without having a signed permission slip in hand. But clearly some would without a second thought.

What would you do?

Stairway to ...???

Supposedly this video was taken up by my old stomping ground, but you can never be sure nowadays.
Regardless of where it was filmed, it goes to show anything is possible in the great outdoors.(click link below)

Tree Stand Visitor (It gets really interesting at the 1:30 mark)

The real question is, what would you do in this situation?
I am positive that I would have had my bow in my hand instead of the video camera!!

Swany~

Happy New Year Everyone!!

In honor of the New Year, here are my resolutions as they pertain to my outdoor life, and what I have control over...

5. Make two ice fishing trips to Lake of the Woods. Wall hanger Burbout here I come!
4. Finish Top 5 in an off season archery tournement.
3. Go out West for a Prarie Dog shooting Trip with my Dad.
2. Find a secondary spot to bowhunt in ND.
1. Take my nephew on a bowhunt with me.