NoDak 09/30/12

4:30 AM... up at at 'em boys. We're loading up the guns, dogs, and heading out for the first hunt of the trip. With the promise of hunting in North Dakota I think the hopes are automatically a bit higher than normal. But keep in mind that it's still hunting. Anything can, and likely will, change from what you had pictured in your mind. No matter. We're not working, and we're hunting, so therefore life is good...

As the watches chimed legal light's arrival, the sun was busy bursting over the opposite horizon from where we last left it. Only minutes later the birds were trading places in the air, with a single duck following the script we wrote. Right up the center, making a death charge at our stubbled in ground blinds, the call of "shoot that bird" rang out and immediately following came the shot, then a folded up mallard falling from the sky.

Only problem was that mallard was the only one who stayed up late and read the script! The ducks couldn't make up their mind what they wanted to do, flying sporadically here and there. The geese came from a few different directions, but the first flock wasn't interested in our spread and decided to light in an a neighboring field. Just far enough away that we were able to watch every other group of birds dump in, or circle the feeding geese.

Maybe it was the hotter than normal weather we had to contend with, or it could have been the Harvest Moon. We weren't certain, but something had to change. We decided to abandon the field set up, and take up posts on those loafing ponds near by. A short while later while scratching out a couple birds, we decided to pick up our toys and head back for lunch. Still a fun morning in the field either way.

Scouting later on that afternoon was productive in the fact that we found a field holding a ton of birds. Both ducks and geese. It would've been a slammer of a hunt except that we needed to track down the land owner and get permission since the property was posted. That task proved to be impossible despite having a friend in town making call after call to an unanswered phone that week. The birds in this field went unhunted to our knowledge, and the size of the flocks only grew throughout the week. It was big tease to say the least. We continued to keep tabs on it just in case we were able to get through to the land owner, but it turned out that it just wasn't meant to be.

We made the call to hunt that diver pond we scouted the night before in hopes of putting some canvasbacks and redheads belly up in the water.

NoDak Road Trip 2012 - 09/28/12

With the goose caboose already filled to the roof with everything we needed to start a full scale guide service of our own, we threw in our last minute items, guns, shells, and dogs. By approximately 7:30 PM on Friday September 29th Rob, Kent, Mike, and myself were headed north west. North Dakota bound for the start of the non-resident duck and goose season. The mileage on Rob's Ford F-150 read 11,568 as we started to put space between us and Ohio. The plan was to keep a fresh rotation of drivers going so that we could truck on through the night and make it to our base camp (Days Inn) by Saturday afternoon. Thanks to ample amounts of junk food, candy bars, energy drinks, and some good conversation we accomplished our first objective of the trip, arriving in the promise land around 3:30 PM on Saturday afternoon.

After getting the hook up on the "pet rate" from the lovely lady working the front desk (even running on fumes, Kent & I still had some swagger), we settled into the rooms, unhitched the goose caboose, and headed out to let the dogs run off some pent up energy. Looking up some likely upland spots to stretch our legs, we picked out some PLOTS land to pull up to and roam around for a bit.

After a few laps through meandering fence rows the dogs all had tongues hanging and were signaling for some water. The weather when we arrived was in the mid 80's. Not exactly ideal for any kind of hunting, but it was time to get back into the truck and get some scouting done for Sunday morning's hunt.

The last thing you feel like doing after driving somewhere around 18 hours is getting back in the truck to drive around for another 3 hours. But, if you want to get some quality hunts lined up, you've got to put in the time and put on the miles.

We scoured the maps and checked out a few spots that have held successful hunts in year's past. As we were doing so, we ran into another pair of hunters from Ohio who had already located the birds in the first quality field that we also discovered. Scratch that spot off the list for Sunday. We moved along and covered more miles, pulling off the side of the road at another big roost pond holding a decent amount of birds. It wasn't long before we were back in the truck, hectically following small flights of birds across the rolling plains and watching them light into a cut bean field a few miles away.

It wasn't a huge wad of birds that we were watching, but with the sun setting in the not too distant future, it looked to be the best option that we had for a field hunt. With some rolls in the terrain, and a few brushy fence rows in between, I was able to slip in close enough to get some shots of where the birds were feeding in the field. A few hundred yards off, and surrounding the feeding spot in the field were a few loafing ponds, so with any luck the birds should be bouncing around and dumping into our laps.

With the sun losing the battle to the horizon, we hung out way off in the distance, letting the birds finish up with their evening meal before they returned to their roost for the night. As the moon rose higher we also decided to do the same.

Making the Most of Your Pictures from the Field

Over the years I've grown to appreciate that one of the most enjoyable aspects of a successful day afield is being able to look back upon the pictures taken from that particular hunt. Maybe it's because we spend many hours in duck blinds watching empty blue bird skies when the forecast called for much duckier weather just yesterday. Or maybe it's because we've all shared the frustration of days spent on the stand where the deer seem to just tip toe on the outer limits of our range. So, when the moment finally does happen with the stars, moons, planets, and Hunting Gods all aligning simultaneously, our successes always taste oh so sweet. In those moments of success take a few extra seconds to soak it all in by pulling your camera out of your pack to capture some memories to share. Whether you're shooting pictures with your cell phone, a point and shoot, or a digital SLR camera, here are some basic thoughts to keep in mind when you're taking pictures in the field.

Photography (no matter what kind of camera you have) is all about light and how to use what is available. If you're using a point & shoot with auto settings the camera will do most of the thinking for you by adjusting ISO (a measure of the camera's sensitivity to light), Aperture (the size of the hole in the lens controlling the amount of light let in), and Shutter Speed (how long that hole is left open for the light) to the amount of light detected at the time you're focusing the camera in for the picture. Shooting with an SLR camera, and out of the auto settings can allow you to get a bit more creative with the particular settings, even though the camera can still do some of the thinking depending on the mode you're shooting in.

So what about light? How do we need to use it? Well fortunately for us, most of the time we're out hunting it's either dawn or dusk, which coincidentally is also referred to in photography as the "golden hour". By definition, the golden hour is the first hour after sunrise, or the last hour before sunset. You've probably had those evenings on stand in the fall when the colors of the leaves in the last hour of shooting light is just amazing. Especially in mid to late October with the sun setting against a bold blue backdrop makes the reds, oranges, and yellows of the leaves just pop out in contrast. That's why it's called the golden hour. The sun is low in the sky, so it's impact on light is much softer, and subtle than it is at high noon when the sun is directly overhead. The shadows are subdued and the amount of light is lessened, making the general view easy on the eyes. So if you kill that big buck at last light, and don't find him until well after dark, just wait until the next morning if at all possible to take your trophy pictures during the golden hour.

This also leads into some other points. If you're going to wait until the next morning to take the pictures, then take some extra time to clean up the appearance of the deer. Use a damp cloth to wipe away any blood from the mouth, nose, and hide of the deer while it's still wet and easy to remove. When you're posing the deer, if you're taking pictures after it's been field dressed, try to either position the open cavity away from the lens or place your bow over the opening to help disguise the area. Make sure the deer's tongue is tucked back in it's mouth too. It just makes for a better overall picture, especially if you plan on sharing the picture with those that fall into a non-hunting audience, or if you're going to have it set up as your screen saver at work.

If time is of the essence, and waiting for optimal lighting isn't an option because you have to work tomorrow morning, then take a look at the light around you. Is the brim of your hat going to cast a shadow over your face because the sun is high in the sky? Look for some shade to set up in for picture time to try and eliminate those harsh shadows. If there's no shade to work with then try changing the camera's flash settings so that the flash goes off to help lighten up those otherwise dark areas.

This picture was around high noon, taken where the buck fell. I should have either cleared out the foreground, and used fill flash to get rid of the shadows, or drug the deer 20 yards and into the woods for some shade. 

Clear away the area around the animal so that the distractions are minimized. Pull out the tall grasses or corn stalks that are laying in front of the pile birds you're taking a picture of. Pull your deer into an area free from saplings that your camera may want to auto focus on. Get the fallen branches out of the way so your camera has a clear view of the animal and the hunter.

Try to take your pictures in a natural setting. Not that tailgates are unnatural, believe me I have my fair share of tailgate pictures, and still take some like that every season, but mix it up a bit. Try to see what around you could work in replacement of the tailgate. A picture of a pile of geese draped over an old log laying alongside the riverbank with the water as a backdrop tells more of the story from the hunt.

We probably shot 20+ pictures of this setting to try and get the dogs looking, the birds stationary, and the sun not too harsh. There's still some things I'd like to have different, but just like in hunting, I'm always learning something more when it comes to field photography.

Did you ride that deer into submission, or shoot it with your shotgun? Again, this is a picture pose I've done before, as have millions of other hunters, but try your best to refrain from sitting on the back of that buck and pulling up on his antlers like the reigns on a horse.

I didn't ride him like a rodeo bull, but I wish I had pictures of this buck in the field when he was killed in mid October. The fall setting would've been much better than the truck bed in the fast food parking lot. 

Dig into the details. Take a few minutes and look around at the details of nature. Take pictures of the spiderwebs still dripping with dew as the morning sun is breaking into the horizon. Before you pull that blood covered arrow out of the dirt, take a couple close up pictures of the fletching, or the drops of blood still pooling up on the oak leaves. Look out on to the water where your shell casings are floating along side the feathers from the ducks you just dropped out of the sky. Take pictures of the details, the little things that just look cool!

Try taking pictures from a different perspective. Get down low, with your belly on the ground and shoot upward. Stand on the roof of your truck and shoot downward, giving an aerial perspective. Take a knee, shoot sideways, set the self timer to shoot in multi-shot mode so that a series of shots are taken, just try doing something different. That's the beauty of digital cameras as well! You get instant feedback to know if you were able to get "the shot" or if something needs to be changed or altered. You never know what might turn out to make for a memorable picture to look back on someday down the road, so shoot away and have fun.

3rd Camera check at the G farm

Checked the camera again recently, but the picture count was way down at the mineral lick on the outside corner. The western edge of the woods has corn planted in it, while the northern edge of the corner has beans. I'm guessing that the deer are starting to move off of the beans now that they're turning yellow and the acorns are dropping. There are no oaks along the outside corner, or within 60 yards of where this camera was hung. With only having a few hundred pictures compared to the other camera hung at the opposite end of the farm I decided to pull it off of the mineral site and relocate it on a trail coming into the woods from a fence row that contained some big rubs last fall. The trail runs from the west to the east, borders against some thick bedding area, and filters into the southern edge of a small stand of oaks. I hung the camera probably a little deeper into the woods than I normally do, but we'll see what happens. I won't be going back in to check it for a few weeks, and only when I've got a good rain in the forecast. Hopefully the picture count will be a little higher here on my next check, letting me know who is using the trail and coming in to feed.

A couple pics of Trent is all for bucks on my target list...

Some other pics just to throw in...

This yote needs to go. The fawns & polts seem to be going well around this farm and I want to keep it that way.

A couple turkey shots. They seem to be making a presence on the farm this summer. Hopefully they stick around for the fall season...

I think this might be my first pic of an owl...

Second Camera check 8/19/12

I was excited to get out this past weekend after letting the camera's have a good three week soak over the mineral sites. With the two cameras at the same farm, and placed at opposite corners of the property I was hoping to add to the inventory list for some of this season's target bucks. That's exactly what happened with the appearance of a very nice buck still to be named...

He easily makes the target list for this property, so hopefully he'll stay close and not wander onto some of the neighboring ground once season gets underway. The first pictures of him were at the back corner, which is like the toe of a boot, adjoining the neighboring bock of woods to the south east.

Next, a week later he was captured up on the outside corner near the other mineral site. He's got a distinguishable little kicker coming off of his right G2 that you can see in the picture below.

Then again, coming back to the site the next day. This picture really seems to make his legs look short & stubby compared to his body. As the rut approaches, and his neck starts to blow up, he's going to look like a bus. Hey, wait a second... let's call him Bettis.

Trent was also very photogenic when he was visiting the outside corner site. Just wish he would pick his head up and hold still for some better pictures of him. These are some of the better ones.

With Trent's front legs down in the mineral site, it really shows how much the deer have dug down.

Unfortunately, no pictures of Corso were taken this time around, but plenty of shots of Flat Top were captured. Flat Top looks to have added a bit more width and a little bit of tine length since his video footage in July was taken. Hopefully he makes it through the hunting season this year so I can see what he turns into next year. If he's able to add some tine length to the width he already has, he'll be a very nice deer. Hopefully Corso is also still out there roaming around, and is just a bit camera shy. I did notice that he seemed to be leery of the IR light front the camera, so perhaps he's just lurking off to the side.

First Camera check 7/29/12

First camera check of the year had a few good bucks on it, so at least I can start piecing together a little bit of a target list for the 2012 season. I put the SpyPoint IR-6 on video mode for the first few weeks just to see what I could see. After switching out the memory card, I flipped it back over to photo. I absolutely love watching the videos but, man, does it take forever to run through a two week period just to sort out the "keepers." You can learn quite a bit from the videos through, so in the end it's well worth the time and effort.

The first buck to make an appearance looked very familiar to one I had pics of last year. If it's not the same buck, it's at least a close relative. If it is the same buck, he didn't put much of anything on this year, which makes me wonder more about a recent article I read about this summer's drought and it's possible affects on antler development. While this buck is not on the list for 2012, he's got lots of video footage so I figured I would include him. Meet "Flat Top"

Last fall's picture:

This summer's video:

It's interesting to note how "Flat Top" gives the small sapling a sniff before trotting off into the woods. While watching all the clips, I noticed that several of the deer did this. With some of the younger bucks lightly rubbing their forehead on the tree. I'm guessing that this tree has turned into a social signpost for the area, with the deer checking in while they're stopping by the mineral site. There's one 1.5 year old buck that I started calling "Facebook" since he's one of the most social repeat visitors, checking in on the sapling with nearly every visit.

Next on the list was a nice buck that I was only able to get a few seconds of video at first. Then he later made another appearance a few days later, causing me to really look him over. He's on the target list so far, and I told myself that it would probably be a Game Day decision whether to shoot or not if I was presented with the opportunity. With Game Day being the theme sticking in my head while watching and re-watching the clips, the buck was then instantly dubbed "Corso."

Here's my man "Corso" with a few of the lovely ladies:

Lastly comes another really nice looking buck carrying a solid 9 point frame. I combed through last year's pictures and couldn't find anything that looked like this buck. I'm sure he was around, and could have been the bruiser laying down many of the rubs I found throughout the property last fall. I just didn't have any record of him until now. I struggled with a name for this guy... always coming back to the #9 for some reason. What resulted for this guy was the name "Trent." Now, where the heck does "Trent" come from? Well, Trent Reznor of course, from Nine Inch Nails. Maybe there's a music video in this buck's future? If so, I hope that I'm the producer.

Here's a look at "Trent":

Buffalo Turkey Samich

Here's a recipe so easy, and so tasty you won't believe it...

1 12 oz bottle of Frank's Red Hot Wings Sauce, Buffalo flavor
1 Dry Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 Turkey Breast (thawed or fresh)

Pour the bottle of Frank's & 1/2 of the Hidden Valley mix into a bowl & stir together

Place the turkey breast in a Crock Pot

Pour the Buffalo / Ranch mixture over the breast & cook on low for about 5 hours.

Check to make sure the turkey is cooked thoroughly, then take 2 forks and shred the breast up. Return the shredded meat to the crock pot and continue to cook on low for 30 minutes to let the sauce soak up.

Serve up on some toasted buns, top with crumbled blue cheese, open up a cold and refreshing beverage of your choice, and enjoy!!!