Ursus21
Active member
The past week has been nothing short of epic! I started off last weekend with a top secret tip from a friend about a small pond that contains big brooke trout on public land. Half the adventure was just getting to it. It involved a rough trek down a jeep trail that eventually ended and turned into a ATV trail. I had to park my pick up at the end of the jeep trail as I don't own an ATV. My partner and I then hiked in on the ATV trail until it petered out, and then we had to literally bushwhack the rest of the way in as there was no trail. Man, did it ever turn out to be worth all the effort. Brooke trout by nature are usually small and an 8" to 10" brookie is considered a trophy in a lot of places. So you can only imagine how stoked we were to catch fish that average this size!
Me with a brilliantly colored male in his full spawn colors.
A picture of the beautiful little crystal clear mountain pond.
My partner who is around 6'3" tall and 365 lbs (for size comparison) with a very stalky brookie.
It was a great trip and we land somewhere between 25-30 outstanding brooke trout.
On Monday I went out and tried a coyote stand after work. I had a great coyote coming in, but at around 200 yards he had to cross a brushy draw. Just as he approached it two mule deer came storming out, and chased his happy butt right out of the country. I felt pretty dejected and frustrated. Here I am trying to help out the local deer herd and those two bone heads totally screwed it up. So Tuesday evening I decided to go fishing instead at one of my all time favorite fishing holes. If the first place was top secret, this hole is Ultra TOP SECRET!!! I love this spot because the potential for a monster rainbow or brown is very high. I fished for 3 hours but was only fortunate enough to hook and land one fish. However, when a rainbow looks like this, one might just be enough. He's not the biggest I've ever caught there, but he is still darn nice all the same. I only had him out of the water long enough for a quick pick and right back into the water he went. Heck, I'd fish this place just for the scenery let alone the fish.
Last night right as I was finishing up dinner my youngest daughter said she would like to go coyote hunting with me sometime. I looked out the window and noticed the wind had laid down a little, and that we had roughly 30 minutes of light. She convinced me to give it a try. We made a quick plan and took off for a place not far from the house. She had never been on a coyote stand with me before so it took a little coaching in regards to staying still and moving one's eyes more than one's head. We called right up until about the last few minutes of light when my daughter exclaims; "I see one!" I ask where and she says: "Right in front of us, can't you see it?" I was actually looking too far out as there was another coyote howling it's head off, and I thought that was the one she saw. I could tell by the urgency in her voice that I needed to look closer. I glance down below us and a coyote was running in like a missile and was only 80 yards away, and closing the distance really fast. The pitch on the hill was so steep that he disappeared momentarily. I barely had enough time to mute the call and quickly set up for what I knew was going to be a split second opportunity. The coyote popped up right at the caller only 25 yards away. Fortunately he hesitated for a half a second and that was all I needed. I fired one shot from my brandi-new 6.5 Creedmoor custom rifle, and that was all it took. It was the very first shot I ever fired from this rifle by the way. First Shot = First Blood. Include the fact my daughter was with me on her first coyote stand, and it just doesn't get any better than that. This is what "AWESOME" looks like!!!
As you can see by this photo, this is no pup. I would put him in the top 5 biggest coyotes I've ever killed. Man, I'm glad my daughter talked me into making a quick coyote stand after dinner last night.
Me with a brilliantly colored male in his full spawn colors.
A picture of the beautiful little crystal clear mountain pond.
My partner who is around 6'3" tall and 365 lbs (for size comparison) with a very stalky brookie.
It was a great trip and we land somewhere between 25-30 outstanding brooke trout.
On Monday I went out and tried a coyote stand after work. I had a great coyote coming in, but at around 200 yards he had to cross a brushy draw. Just as he approached it two mule deer came storming out, and chased his happy butt right out of the country. I felt pretty dejected and frustrated. Here I am trying to help out the local deer herd and those two bone heads totally screwed it up. So Tuesday evening I decided to go fishing instead at one of my all time favorite fishing holes. If the first place was top secret, this hole is Ultra TOP SECRET!!! I love this spot because the potential for a monster rainbow or brown is very high. I fished for 3 hours but was only fortunate enough to hook and land one fish. However, when a rainbow looks like this, one might just be enough. He's not the biggest I've ever caught there, but he is still darn nice all the same. I only had him out of the water long enough for a quick pick and right back into the water he went. Heck, I'd fish this place just for the scenery let alone the fish.
Last night right as I was finishing up dinner my youngest daughter said she would like to go coyote hunting with me sometime. I looked out the window and noticed the wind had laid down a little, and that we had roughly 30 minutes of light. She convinced me to give it a try. We made a quick plan and took off for a place not far from the house. She had never been on a coyote stand with me before so it took a little coaching in regards to staying still and moving one's eyes more than one's head. We called right up until about the last few minutes of light when my daughter exclaims; "I see one!" I ask where and she says: "Right in front of us, can't you see it?" I was actually looking too far out as there was another coyote howling it's head off, and I thought that was the one she saw. I could tell by the urgency in her voice that I needed to look closer. I glance down below us and a coyote was running in like a missile and was only 80 yards away, and closing the distance really fast. The pitch on the hill was so steep that he disappeared momentarily. I barely had enough time to mute the call and quickly set up for what I knew was going to be a split second opportunity. The coyote popped up right at the caller only 25 yards away. Fortunately he hesitated for a half a second and that was all I needed. I fired one shot from my brandi-new 6.5 Creedmoor custom rifle, and that was all it took. It was the very first shot I ever fired from this rifle by the way. First Shot = First Blood. Include the fact my daughter was with me on her first coyote stand, and it just doesn't get any better than that. This is what "AWESOME" looks like!!!
As you can see by this photo, this is no pup. I would put him in the top 5 biggest coyotes I've ever killed. Man, I'm glad my daughter talked me into making a quick coyote stand after dinner last night.
