Fall has got to be my favorite time of year. Between all the great bites going on and critters moving around in the woods, just seems like there’s never enough hours in the day. This year that’s been especially true for me. Having moved into our first home and doing everything I can to save money for our wedding this coming fall. I’ve had almost O time to enjoy my favorite part about living in the midwest.
This past weekend, I finally found some time to get out and hit the water and woods like I usually do and neither disappointed. Got out Saturday afternoon for some trout fishing and it was game on! Caught a whole mess of em in just a few hours. Mostly just longlining cranks, which is absolutely one of my favorite ways to catch them. There’s nothing like the feeling of getting a rod almost ripped out of your hands by a fresh steelie as you try to control it and wonder which part of your delivery system is most likely to break. If you haven’t ever fished this way in fall, it can be extremely effective and about as simple as it gets. As a rule of thumb, slow and steady wins the race and just keep switching baits out until you find what they want. It’s literally different every day. Which makes it a lot of fun to figure out.
After getting to scratch the fish itch, I dedicated Sunday to sitting in a tree. Bowhunting whitetails in the rut is something I live for, and this year I had only gotten out twice before Sunday. I knew the big boys were pretty much locked down at this point, but a fresh dusting of snow and perfect wind made it an easy choice for me as to where I wanted to be at sunrise. As I climbed into my favorite stand, everything just felt right. Quiet, but almost too quiet, which every bowhunter knows is an awesomely erie feeling.
Wasn’t long after sunrise and I heard that unmistakeable “snap”. Squirrels dont snap branches, but I know what does… As I slowly turned behind me to check out what I assumed would be my first doe or small buck of the morning, I quickly spotted the deer against the freshly fallen snow, and the situation got real serious in a hurry. A giant of a deer was moving right towards me, down the same trail that I killed my buck last year. “This is going to happen” I thought to myself “Im gonna kill him right here, right where I got it done last year”
He got to about 25yds, and that’s when things started to go south. He was coming from straight down wind, as big ones always do, and he must’ve caught my scent. He held up there and started sniffing around “somethings not right in my kitchen this morning” This probably went on for 5minutes but felt like 30, and then he gave up on it. He kept coming, now I’m rattled from the staredown but still confident and ready to paste him as soon as he gets broadside which is gonna be at 10yds. BUT, instead of being a good deer and going down the trail he’s supposed to, he breaks off and goes behind me. I need to reposition with this deer in spitting distance. Get one foot around, okay, no problem. Second foot gets around, he still hasn’t seen me, but as I settle my weight back down, stand lets out “creeeaaak”. Deer looks straight up at me, stomps his foot and bolts…. Just a heartbreaker.
Sat the rest of the day and never saw a hide. That was my chance for the bow season and just didn’t work out. I was really upset about it last night, but woke up this morning with a new attitude. Just being able to encounter a deer like that is a special thing, and I feel blessed to be able to do the things I love when I can. Even if it’s not nearly as often as I’d like. So, just a reminder on this nasty cold Monday. We live in an awesome part of the greatest country on earth, and even though the winters might last the greater part of a calendar year, there are truly awesome opportunities around us all the time.
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