LRM's Season - Pic and Story Heavy

[Little Red Man]

Well, I have been trying to type this up for some time now, and have finally found some time. Bear with me because I am going to try and break it up a bit.
I have been watching some of the cat and mouse story telling on the site for a while now, and figure it was time for me to weigh in.
It is gonna be long and drawn out, and hopefully some of you folks doing the same thing will feel the pain <grin>…
So, my “season” starts with fishing in the spring. Sorry to those who aren’t interesting in fishing, but I wanna get it ALL out and there will be a hunting component toward the end.
So, I don’t hunt bear, ‘cause I don’t kill shit I don’t eat, and I don’t have a clue (yet) on how to turkey hunt. Further, I am married with a son of 9, and fishing offers me a better opportunity to spend time with the family. Not that they don’t like to come along for the odd hunt, but generally their patience is limited.
Anyway, let’s get started.
Fishing on the Shuswap this year (primarily this spring) was phenomenal! I spend a good part of the spring taking out friend’s family and kids so only got to reel in a few on my own, unless I went out by myself.
Brother-in-Law early spring (chilly) – turned out to be a pretty nice fish – SUPER scrapper!http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Fish1.jpg

[Little Red Man]

This is what it turned out to behttp://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Fish2.jpg

[Little Red Man]

My turn!http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Fish3.jpg

[Little Red Man]

Sorry for the multi-posts...cannot seem to figure out how to attach more than one pic at a time from my web site. Anyway, next up.....Lake trouthttp://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Fish4.jpg

[Little Red Man]

Caught a MONSTER Lake Trout this day also, but only had my trout net, and the damn thing would not fit! Father-in-Law fiddle farted around with the big one on the swim platform trying to get it in boat, but in the end it flipped loose (somewhat of common theme as you will hear).http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Fish5.jpg

[Little Red Man]

OK...time for a bite of wild tenderloin (getting to that story soon!)

[Wrayzer]

Keep er comin'!

[Little Red Man]

OK...quick bite (YUM) and a sip 'o beer.....and back to the task at hand
Next up was another great trip with the in-laws and friends.http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Fish6.jpg

[Little Red Man]

A little later on in the summer, took a friend and his boy out for a day, and the boy was so nervous, he would not reel in another big laker. I did not know he had NEVER been fishing before, as I would have FORCED him to reel it in, but regardless, he was super stoked and had a blast. That is the boy behind the big head of the fish.http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Fish7.jpg

[moose2]

Great looking fish, looking forward to the rest. If you open two windows on your computer, this thread and then your picture page you will be able to bounce back and forth using copy and paste adding up to 5 pictures per post.
Mike

[Little Red Man]

Thanks Mike.....problem is, my pictures are larger than allowed, so I am hosting them on my own website, and inserting a link instead of a pic.....cannot seem to do more than one pic per post.....grrr....

[kennyj]

Beautiful fish! Nice flat water too. Great post so far.
kenny

[vikinghunter]

Some nice looking fatties u got there, might have to start a fishing buddies thread :-D
Now lets get to the deer.

[Little Red Man]

Getting there Viking....patience man, patience.....oh yeah....just had another bite of wild game Italian sausage and another sip 'o beer (YUM again)....

[Little Red Man]

Once again, a little later in the season, a harvest my wife and son were in on, (these were the only two fish killed all year)http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Fish9.jpg

[Little Red Man]

And FINALLY (well, almost) on the fishing front, we did get a chance to hit the island near Nanoose Bay, and went out with the Father-in-Law. Caught a TON of little guys, but FINALLY hooked into what I am guessing was a good 25 lb Chinook. All throughout the day, I kept telling the FIL to NOT put the boat into neutral when we had a fish on. Well, sure enough, we get the 25 lber hitting the rod like a freight train, and the FIL pops the motor into neutral. And of course, the next thing that happens, is the fish catches up to the boat and starts doing circles around the boat. IMHO, I am fighting the fish like a champ; under the boat, around the downrigger lines, under the boat again, BIG jump next to the boat, but still have him on! Finally, he gets tired out, and FIL has the net, and I am coaching him on netting it. Well, he listened about as well as he did when I told him to leave the motor in forward when we catch a fish, and sure enough he tried to net it from the tail!!.....$#%$#@@%&^#@$%$#!%$#@%.....anyway, the net hits the fishes tail, and it runs like a freight train again, give one jump and throws the hook……sorry, no pic to share on this fish!!!.......

[Little Red Man]

OK, fast forward to hunting season……
I was amazed to find I got an LEH for an MU west of Prince George. I have an old high school buddy who lives there now, and he convinced me to put in for a Moose LEH. I would have to describe my luck as total shyte, but when I checked my LEH, I was amazed to see I got it! I instantly text my buddy and he calls bullshit. Regardless, I finally convinced him that I did indeed get the draw, and so the planning begins.
At first, the plan was to fish for a week in Terrace or there about, and then do a moose hunt during the prime of the rut a week later. Unfortunately my buddy is wishy washy and bailed on the fishing trip. Oh well, no biggie; I have been to Bella Coola fishing with the wife before my son came along, and figure screw it, I will go to Bella Coola by myself to fish for Coho, and then hook up with him for the moose hunt. So, although I have been to BC before, I have not been there late in the fall, and so the research begins. I think I have a pretty good handle on it, but am still unsure of myself, so I reach out to a couple of members on this site for more info who presumably have good info on the area. Unfortunately, apparently I do not rate, as I never did hear a peep from my PM’s to them. Oh well, I will probably go an exploratory fishing expedition.

[frenchbar]

beauty fish ! the shuswaps gotta be 1 of my favorite places to fish..never know what your going to hook into .

[Little Red Man]

So…at the last minute, my old Elk hunting buddy from Alberta calls me up and says he is in to lots of Elk; got himself a nice 5 point, and tells me to get my ass down to the Crow. So I figure, to hell with the fishing…it is time to HUNT!! (happy now Viking?). I pack up my shit and head for 6 days of Elk hunting instead of fishing (ahhhh....that feels better...fishing was getting old anyway...LOL)...

[Little Red Man]

Some nice countryhttp://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Elk1.JPG

[Little Red Man]

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Elk2.JPG

[Little Red Man]

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Elk3.JPG

[Jack Russell]

I love those trout.

[Little Red Man]

View from Camphttp://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Camp.jpg

[Little Red Man]

Home Sweet Homehttp://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Camp1.jpg

[Little Red Man]

OK, enough pics for now…..
After my fishing season, expectations were pretty high and I was stoked.
Over the 6 days, we hunted really hard and put lots of miles on the boots.
One animal we had called into within about 50 yards, but could not see him. We were only about a hundred yards off the road (TONS of roads where we were) and some dufus in a SUPER loud truck was road hunting, and that was the last we heard of that animal. And yeah, yeah…I know the spiel…”if you don’t want to get interrupted by road hunters, hunt further off the road”….and yeah..we tried that too….
Anyway, that was way day one. Day two found us into Elk again. Unfortunately, they were across a ravine and likely about 1000 yards away at last light. We scoped one up high that looked like a really good bull, but we just could not get to him in time. The next day, we went back, and hiked across the ravine and up to the draw where we saw the big guy. We called quietly all the way in, as the bush was quite loud, and did get responses. Unfortunately the wind was not at all in our favor, and the bull eventually moved off, never to be heard from again.
Day three…..there is a bow only zone in the area, and we figured we would get way off the beaten track and try and get something with the pointy stick. It had been a while since I had shot my bow, but after several hours of practice session on stumps the day before it was revealed I could still shoot well to 40 yards.
We hiked in about 4 k and got in really early, well before first light and got setup. Not much was happening, until way up on a ridge (likely 700 yards away) two Elk skyline themselves. So, out come the calls to see if we can’t draw them in closer. We called for a while and sure enough, both the Elk are coming in hard and heavy. Neither of them was huge, but we were in a three point zone, and I am definitely more of a meat hunter than a horn hunter (yeah..I know..they are called ANTLERS!), so it was all good. Unfortunately, as you bow hunters know, you gotta get REAL close with a bow, and the damn wind kicked our asses yet again.
Anyway, it was still pretty early in the morning, so we stuck to our guns and spotted another herd up on a ridge quite some distance away. Again, and really nice bull (could not tell for sure, but looked to be a sixer) was spotted in the distance. We hauled ass as quick as we could to where we thought they may travel to, but no go…*&%$!...oh well, was good cardio both from a hike, and adrenaline perspective.
So, it was getting really late into the second rut, but we continued to put on the miles and hunt as best we could. In the end, we never did see hide nor hair, nor did we hear another Elk…
Plenty of really nice scenery, some good hikes and a few drinks, good meals, and a TON of laughs…was a great trip all in all.

[Little Red Man]

Oh yeah...I did fish the Carbondale River while I was there, but am getting the sense I may be lynched if I do not continue the hunting story......

[Little Red Man]

Couple more pics, then on to the moose hunthttp://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Elk4.jpg

[Little Red Man]

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Elk5.jpg

[Little Red Man]

OK...carrying on....maybe too much about fishing....seem to have lost interest....oh well.....
So, packed up my shit again and left the Crow empty handed.
So, it was time to head north to PG for my LEH moose hunt. Again, we super stoked about this part of the trip with very high expectations.
The moose hunt was a lot of FUN as I was hunting with a friend of over 20 years. A few pics of the area and our camp first….http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Moose1.jpg

[Little Red Man]

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Moose2.jpg

[Little Red Man]

View from camphttp://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Moose3.jpg

[Little Red Man]

Home made moose call

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Moose4.jpg

[Little Red Man]

Day one was pretty much a wash, with setting up camp, a small road hunt, a lot of bullshit, and a ton of beers afterwards. This was the first supper; elk steaks from an animal my buddy got earlier in the seasonhttp://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Moose5.jpg

[deer nut]

Re: your salt water trip: I feel your pain!!!!!! Happens to everyone fishing with rookies. :twisted: There is no greater shame on board than losing a buddy's fish at the net! Great thread - thanks! :-D

[Little Red Man]

Day one was pretty much a wash, with setting up camp, a small road hunt, a lot of bullshit, and a ton of beers afterwards. This was the first supper; elk steaks from an animal my buddy got earlier in the season
Day two, we quad REALLY early into an area we scoped out a bit during day one. My buddy and I start our hike really early and we travel probably about 4 k or so across a huge swamp and up and down a bunch of hills. All spots looking pretty moosey, we keep calling as we slowly walk. After several hours of hiking and calling, it is now 10:30 AM or so….we start to head back to the quads and immediately as we turn around, but buddy says “LOOK MOOSE”! Unfortunately he was close to 700ish yards away (a good one as near as we could tell) but as soon as we tried to put the moves on him, he BOLTED!!
Day three, we are in a different area, and we spot a cow at the edge of a treed area. I get her lined up in my scope, because we THOUGHT she was a bull initially (her head was near a branch that made her look like a bull) but then confirmed it was a indeed a cow with the binos, so I lowered the rifle. She got jumpy and started to walk into the bush, but there was a BULL behind her that that we did not see…TOO LATE!!! They both ran into a thick swamp and we lost sight of them.
Day four, we were driving to a spot to go for a hike and on the trail in we came face to face with another truck. The truck stopped, and the fellow inside it JUMPED out, ran across the road and shot a bull RIGHT in front of us. If we had been there literally 30 seconds sooner, that bull would have been ours.
The next several day we put a TON of miles on the boots and the truck and the quads, and NOTHING!!...$#^$#@$%$#@%$#@$#@...Apparently the moose populations up there have declined 50-70% this year! Oh well, finished up the hunt shooting nothing other than a bunch of grouse (there were a TON of those up there) but it was a really fun hunt nonetheless. We had a great camp, good food, LOTS of bullshit and a TON of beers.

[Little Red Man]

OK so, two swings, two misses. I am home now, and it is time to focus on deer hunting. I am hoping against hope, there is no strike three. But not really holding my breath, as I am primarily a meat hunter, and rarely hold out for bigger deer, but we are now into 4 point season, so it has to be at least a decent deer before I can take a poke. I know the adage about stop killing small deer, if you want to kill a big one, but like I say, I am way more focused on meat than antlers.
So, I spend several days in my usual spots where there are usually quite a few deer and NOTHING (near the 5000’ elevation mark. Not a doe, not a track, no sign at all!! Sigh…brutal….so, I go to this area four or five times and really…nothing at all…!! Anyway, the long weekend hits and I spent a FULL day (literally 5 AM until 6 PM) in the bush and we (my non-hunting neighbor buddy and I) never saw SHIT!!!
So, I am getting over a wicked cold and am still feeling like shit, so I am pretty unmotivated after my past forays and the Saturday where we see nothing. On our way back into town, my buddy and I decide to hit a local watering hole for a bit to eat and a beer. We are in the pub having dinner, and I am in my hunting gear, and in walks this fellow and says “Hey, there are a couple pretty serious looking hunters!” Anyway, we get to chatting with this guy, and if you believe him, he is saying “I have four deer and one moose in the freezer!” and he proceeds to show us some pics. I am thinking, nice, good for you, you *******, and then the convo ends.
But, as he is walking out of the bar with his gal, he says “Don’t tell anyone I told ya (like I would) but you should check out XXXXXX Mountain for mule deer”. Anyway….like I said, I am still feeling like shit, and I take the entire Sunday off and am thinking I will hunt all day Monday again. Sunday night comes and I am STILL feeling crappy, and so tell my neighbor buddy, I am NOT getting up at 5 AM to hunt on Monday, but we should go out Monday afternoon for a quick drive up XXXXX Mountain to see what’s what.
We get up on the mountain (fresh snow) and again, we see SHIT for sign (fresh snow and all). We drive for a bit looking for a spot to get out and go for a hike, and then we find a road that has no truck of quad tracks, so we head down that road. This is primarily an exploratory trip, as I have never been to this area before. Anyway at Y in the road a little ways down this un-tracked road, we have a decision, and I think initially to go up thinking that the muley’s are still up high. Although there is some snow, there is not more than 6 inches or so. We are at about 2500’, and for some reason I think, screw it, we have not seen deer sign up high, so let’s go low.
Regardless, I drive about 50 yards UP the Y, then decide, NOPE, let’s go lower. I back up, drive down the lower Y road and drive for about a km or so. I am looking at smoke coming off the right side of the road thinking it is machinery or another vehicle, when I look to the right and see smoke there also. It turns out to be a very large burn from a logging slash pile. While I am looking at the smoke, my buddy yells “animals!”. I look up and see a BIG Mule Deer buck trotting away from me. I can tell by his spread that he is a pretty good deer. I hop out of my Jeep, trying to grab my clip and get it into my gun, the whole way shells are popping out of my clip as I am trying to get things loaded (LOL) So, I lose two out of four of the shells, but finally get it in the gun, and get a shell into the pipe. I finally get a bead on the deer and see that he has four good points. It seems like it takes a half hour to me, but my buddy says it was probably only about 10 seconds
I give the deer a poke, and am pretty sure I hit him, but not positive. He walks a bit further into the cut block, and figure I better hit him again, so take another shot. This time I can clearly hear the WHOOMPA and he goes down hard. Two free hand shots at about 100 yards. We walk up into the block to find him, and sure enough, he is DONE; down and out. I have a look, and sure enough, two shots to the boiler maker. We drag his ass down the hill, gut him out, stuff him into the Jeep and head home
This is about 30 minutes into the hunt and we have the deer into the Jeep by 3:30 PM and have him in my garage by 5:00 PM!!
So, no strike three, but it does seem ironic, that after so much hard hunting this year, and not connecting, that it would end with a shit-ass luck road hunt, with a trophy (to me)…..crazy……
Anyway, he sure ain’t no 200 class deer, but what I think is another gooder from Region 3, and my biggest to date…..he is at the taxi now, and is goin’ on my wall!!

[Little Red Man]

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Mule-2012-2.jpg

[Little Red Man]

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Mule-2012-3.jpg

[ianwuzhere]

wow, beauty mulie, good job!

[Little Red Man]

And finally...what he looks like AFTER....YUM...

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/After1.jpg

[Little Red Man]

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/After2.jpg

[lorneparker1]

Nice mulie!!

Love the hanging sausage off the 2 leather dining room chairs!

Lorne

[hunter1947]

Thanks very much for taking us along on your hunt ,,whats going into the smoker looks great ,,very nice fish you caught as well ,,the mule deer is icing on the cake ,thanks for sharing your hunt..

[John P]

Great thread thanks for sharing

[deer nut]

That's a good buck. Nice mass. Big body too & it's cool you process the meat yourself. At least you earned your road hunt luck! You look happy! Glad your persistence paid off.

[rifleman]

Love the scenery pic from your elk camp. beauty trout. great buck.
Thanx 4 sharin!!!

[r106]

great story and pics

[BiG Boar]

Thanks for showing us your season! I was really Routing for ya in the end! Nice finish!

[Little Red Man]

Thanks for playing along folks....one last pic...dug this out of his shoulder; the other shot was thru and thru....

http://members.shaw.ca/LittleRedMan/Bullet.jpg

[lostindian]

Congrats ! One hell of a story thanks for sharing

Rod

[markt308]

awesome thread. great job. look forward to seeing how your mount turns out!

[fusion]

That was a good read. Great pictures and not a bad buck to end the story!