Fish Report: 10/26/04

Well, there sure is no doubt that fall is here big time. Of course, after Saturday's rain if you wondered if you could find a place to get stuck, take my word for it: there are places that will easily accommodate you. I guess what makes life so interesting up here is the fact that one week all the 2-tracks are dry and dusty then the next week you need a 4-wheel drive to even get down them.

I am typing this real soft because it took me more than a month to see one! But I saw a pat on Tuesday! This is the first one I have spotted this year and have gone this long without even putting one up. I was in such shock that I just watched him as he crossed the road and headed back into the woods. If we should get another windy-rainy day like last Saturday, the leaves should all be off the trees out in the woods. Even now in some areas 90% of them have to be off the trees. It is totally amazing how the woods open up when this happens.

The deer are starting to move a little bit and I have even come across a few scrapes. This means if you drive the deer areas, be careful because when they get in that crazy mood there is no telling what they will do. As the old saying goes, you not only have to watch for deer number one, but be on the lookout for deer number two, and in a lot of cases if you make it by these two, number three will come tearing out in front of you.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in the Fish Report that hunters were seeing a good number of doe without any fawns and this trend seems to be wide spread. I have observed and talked to hunters that have had healthy, nice looking does come in all by themselves. In some areas they are seeing two-three loners working the area. The reason? Who knows, but it is rather interesting.

My grandkids who live down in Texas had their gerbil die, and I offered to catch a couple up at camp to replace the one they lost, but for some reason Mom was not in favor of this. I can't figure out why not. I am sure they are from the same family, only one is the domestic side of the family while the others live out in the wild.

Well, do you have all your "Honey Do" jobs done? It is the end of October and you know that here in Yooperland November is a holiday month for all of us that enjoy the great outdoors. This morning when I went out at 5:30, I had a project getting frost off the windshield. In fact if I had not been doing "Honey Do" jobs, I sure would have been in a fix without a scraper, but I knew there was one under the passenger side front seat. Of course, it is a fact that up here in God's Country you never take your window scraper out of the car because you may need it all year around.

As I sit here and think about hunting season there sure are a lot of good memories that go through my mind. I guess the good memories were made back when life seemed to be a whole lot simpler than it is now. This was back when your whole world was within a few miles of your home. There was no big bridge to get you to Lower Michigan and Wisconsin was far enough away to be another country. So you just had your world and your family to enjoy and build memories with.

It is funny but more than fifty years later you can still picture the hunting trips with Dad and the pats you got. You can recall in your mind all the times you were with Dad when he shot a deer. It is amazing but these great times never get old as you recall and remember them. Those were the days; a boy had it made when he got to spend a couple of days with Dad and the crew at camp.

This and the fact that those deer shacks were "deer shacks" and it is amazing the great times that were had at these shacks. Something could be learned in these modern hunting camps that are built with all the comforts of home. Those were the days and I loved every hunting season I got to be part of back then.

Please remember, as you get thinking about holiday gifts, that a complete set of all 8 of the Tales From A Game Warden books can be sent anywhere for just $70, plus shipping. They make a great gift with a taste of Yooperland for people to enjoy.