Arvid's Fishing Report » Hunting

Hunting update

Arvid — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:39:42 +0000

It been pretty quite. Tuesday I did not see anything. Wednesday I saw a nice buck about an hour into the morning hunt. Looks like an eight point, like the one I got on Monday. It was an early frosty morning; full zoom at a couple hundred yards; picture quality not great.

A nice buck

Concerned about something besides me

Deer Season – Opening Weekend

Arvid — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:30:21 +0000

We kind of consider the opening weekend of deer season a three-day weekend because there is no school on Monday; it’s closed for deer season. It makes no difference for our group of Gerry, Wally, Terry & myself; none of us are in school, and Wally and Terry usually take a day or two vacation. Gerry, (now being a fully retired old fart as of November 1st) and I don’t have to worry about that work business anymore.

We were not quite sure what to expect from this deer season because there were not that many deer being seen, nor was there much sign of rubs or scrapes. Saturday morning was sunny and a little breezy. The four of us hunted morning and evening and nobody saw as much as a flag. Sunday morning there was a light drizzle, a couple of rain showers and windy. In between those showers, Wally got a nice doe and an hour later, Gerry got a beautiful 10 point buck. The only thing that Terry and I saw on Sunday were a rabbit, a fisher and two partridge. Terry had to work on Monday and headed for home Sunday night. Monday morning it was just Wally and I that hunted. I guess Gerry figured after getting that big buck he deserved the morning off. Can’t really blame him as the wind blew all Sunday night, continued into Monday morning and it didn’t look like good weather for any deer to move. I had been in my stand for a couple of hours and was reading a magazine when I looked up into the mirror at the trail behind me and there stood this nice buck. By the time I turned around he stepped into the brush heading west. It was less than a minute later when he stepped out into one of the other trails; he didn’t go any further. It’s not near as big as Gerry’s, but I’m very happy with second place.

Needless to say, we have been pleasantly surprised with our success thus far.

Gerry with his very nice 10 point buck

Arvid’s eight point buck

The ruffed grouse that helped pass time by the deer stand

The leaves go

Arvid — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 15:03:50 +0000

A little rain; a good breeze and the leaves go. It really does look like Fall up here in northern Minnesota.

We didn’t get any fishing done the last two days that Steve and Scott were here; the weather just didn’t cooperate. On Wednesday, it was rainy in the morning, then it turned breezy. In the afternoon we took a ride into the forest to see if we could find a grouse. Martin was here from Illinois and we walked to his cabin and had a nice visit with him. Once back to the pickup, we did see a grouse on the trail, but cover was too thick to get Scott a shot and it ran away. Thursday, it was cold and windy and we just did things around the house. Friday, they left Minneapolis to spend a day with relatives, then return home on Sunday. It was great to have them here for a few days and to see how well that Scott is doing.

Martin’s Cabin

Another First

Arvid — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:36:32 +0000

On Friday, Jodi, Steve, Scott, Diane and I packed a snack lunch and headed for the forest to take advantage of the nice weather and go for a walk in the woods. At the same time we thought it might be an opportunity for Scott to try and get a partridge. We walked a couple of trails; saw six birds and Scott got his first partridge with a .410. Not only did he get his first one; he got two more. It was a good day in the woods.

Scott with his first partridge

End of Seasons

Arvid — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:20:28 +0000

Let’s call it the end of the seasons. I fished the river twice this past week; once with Don and once by myself. The weather was great, but fishing was poor. Don and I came in with three saugers and one walleye and when I went by myself I kept two saugers. Frustrated, I put the boat away; end of the open water season.

Today was the end of the deer season. We had two weeks of incredibly nice weather. Our group ended up with four deer; could have had more, but we’ll leave them for next year.

On Thursday, Don and I took another ride down through the forest area. We didn’t see any deer in the forest, but did see a few ruffed grouse and got three. On our travels, we came upon an old fire tower with the trees growing up through the base and a dilapidated old cabin that we guessed was used by those manning the tower during fire season. That was kinda neat; it was a good day.

An Old Fire Tower

The Old Cabin

The Ruffed Grouse that kept me company by the deer stand

A little more deer hunting

Arvid — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:42:55 +0000

I’m convinced that it is easier to get a deer with a rifle than with a camera. Saturday afternoon I had a beautiful eight point buck within ten yards of the deer stand. He came up from the blind side and was there when I first saw him. I made a slight move and he bounced off a few yards and then walked away with his tail standing straight up. It was a kodak moment that got botched. Sunday morning a nice doe stood broadside in the trail; first one side; then the other. The darn auto focus didn’t seem to work when I tried to use the zoom feature. I guess I’m not cut out to be a wildlife photographer.

Wally got a nice fork horn on Saturday morning. We are now four for four.

On Saturday after lunch, Wally, Nolan and I fished the river for a little over an hour. We caught about a dozen walleyes and saugers. We kept three small saugers and two nice walleyes; released the rest that were all small.

Wally with Nolan and Aviana

A nice doe

Timber Wolf

Arvid — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:47:00 +0000

Thursday, Don and I took a ride in the forest area; not necessarily looking for something to shoot, but to see what we might see. We stopped three or four times to take short walks on some trails. One time I was standing on the road waiting for Don to come back and I saw something on the road. I didn’t have my gun with a scope, just my .410 bird gun and I just assumed it was a deer; but when we drove up to that spot, there were no deer tracks just wolf tracks. Then, several miles down the road, about 100 yards in front of the vehicle, out steps this big black timber wolf. Of course, he didn’t stand around long enough to pose for a picture, but we did get a good look at him. We did see three deer and four ruffed grouse for the day.

Deer season is going good. Gerry got a nice fork horn on Sunday morning. I got a doe and a bonus deer for the table on Saturday afternoon. Wally saw some deer over the weekend, but nothing that tempted him to shoot. Terry was not in the right place at the right time and didn’t see any.

Wally, Terry and I fished Saturday during the day for a couple hours and only caught one little sauger and a little walleye. Monday evening I fished for a couple hours and caught two little saugers; nothing to keep. Wednesday, I was seriously thinking of putting the boat away for the season, but gave the river another try. I fished late afternoon and caught five walleyes; kept three from 15″ to 18″ and released a 19″ & 26″. Surprise, surprise.

Sharp-tail Grouse

Arvid — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:31:42 +0000

Diane and I took the opportunity to reserve an observation blind that the DNR has set up on a traditional dancing ground, that the sharp-tail grouse use to vie for a chance to mate. We were lucky, the weather today was perfect; it was going to be sunny with very little wind and temperature in the low thirties. We were up at 5:00 a.m. so that we could be at the blind by daylight. The birds were there when we arrived and they flushed, but returned as soon as we were in the blind. There were between fifteen and twenty grouse in front of us most of the time. We were in the blind for over an hour and the birds were there the entire time. They danced, spared, strutted around and sometimes just sat. It’s a beautiful and sometimes comical display.

Dancing Sharp-tail Grouse

Sharp-tail on their traditional dancing grounds

Winter Severity Index (WSI)

Arvid — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:05:19 +0000

We are having, what one might say, is some good old fashion winter; cold and lots of snow. It was -40 this morning, give or take a degree or two and that’s not wind chill. The day time temperature may not reach -10.

I haven’t fished in nearly a month. We were gone over Christmas and the day we got back I came down with a cold. Then I find out that the river is a mess with slush all over; to much snow with not enough ice. It’s a good thing I had my little house propped up six inches because when I went down to check on it last week the water had come up to the runners and froze. Fishing reports I’m getting from on the river are not good; most of the time it’s one bite, one fish. Conditions on Lake of the Woods are better. I understand Adrian’s have their winter road out nine miles past Pine Island and the going is good. I haven’t heard much for fishing reports on the lake, but for most of the early winter season it was very good.

If this winter continues it may take a toll on the deer herd. The Minnesota DNR has a Winter Severity Index (WSI) that adds up the number of days the temperature is below zero and the number of days with 15 or more inches of snow on the ground. Any time the WSI exceeds 100 the winter becomes severe and the deer can suffer. Thus far this winter I understand that the index is not quite at 50, but it’s two points a day with the current weather so it won’t take long to reach 100. The last really hard winter was 1997 when the index reached 200 and many deer were lost.

Lots of Snow

One for the wall

Arvid — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:24:50 +0000

Diane’s sister, Kathy, and her husband, Dustin, took a West Texas whitetail deer hunt over the Thanksgiving weekend. Kathy got the best of the guys; a nice buck that measured 156-5/8″ that I understand is very nice for a West Texas whitetail. This is Kathy’s first whitetail and one for the wall.

Ice fishing is close to being in full swing. Cold weather is making ice and the fish bite is good. Reports have about 10″ of ice on the Lake and the bite on the north side of Pine Island is terrific. Ice conditions on the Rainy River are spotty; some places have up to 8″ of ice, but there are still open holes up and down the river. I have found fishing to be a little spotty. The other morning I caught six walleyes in a little over an hour with three to big to keep; 20″-25″. Then yesterday afternoon I fished for an hour and never had a bite. I’ll blame it on the numerous weather changes we’ve been having lately.

Kathy with her nice West Texas Whitetail Buck