Hunt Ducks Hook Fish
Pete from HuntDucksHookFish.com
Skunked
This was not how I expected to start my duck season. Opening Morning: 5:30 am My eyes where on fire. My nose dripped. The overwhelming stench of skunk assaulted my senses. Chad leaned on the tailgate in the dark driveway. His new pup, Jax, was the perpetrator. Camo vest, face and fur saturated in skunk … Continue reading
The Good Hurt
I’ve spent the past two weekends in the thickest, nastiest, aspens I could find. Pushing through pines so dense that I couldn’t see an inch in front of my face. My elbows are scratched and stuck with tiny bits of thorns. My knee is swollen with a bruise the size of a baseball. It’s late … Continue reading
Goose S.W.A.T.
Erika saw them from the truck. Three geese in a wide open clover field. Not at all concerned that the season opened the day before. Mosquitoes swarmed veraciously biting man and dog. Jim and I belly crawled down the trail. A doe and two fawns noticed us but kept eating. Safe for now. The geese … Continue reading
Salmon Fever
My knees were knocking so bad I could hardly stand up. Some guys get “buck fever” and I’m not ashamed to admit it. But fur and antlers don’t rattle me like this. Not like my first salmon. I’ve tried for years to land one of these silver bullets. I’ve hooked them with spoons from piers. … Continue reading
Fish West 2012
I was fishing in Yellowstone just days ago. Searching for trout and grayling while Goldeneye and Rudy ducks fed within casting range of my fly rod. My feet ached from the cold water but I didn’t want to move. Stepping out of that lake meant the trip was over. The fishing rod cased. Wading shoes … Continue reading
Fish West 2012: Bozeman and the Gallatin
Even the airport feels like a fishing lodge. Heavy wood beams accented by black iron hardware. All framed the mountains staring through giant windows. I instantly felt at home. We were in the Gallatin River within a few hours. A swift, clear stretch just minutes from the bar where we fueled up on Kokanee and … Continue reading
Fish West 2012: The Snake River
“BEAR!” The river carried us closer to a pair of black ears hiding behind a bush. I scrambled for my video camera as the bear covered ground with two easy hops. He stopped and stared right at me. Like he was glaring into my skull. I didn’t need any more reminders about how dangerous The … Continue reading
Fish West 2012: Yellowstone
We hiked through scorched earth. Tall pines lying like skeletons bleached by the sun. A chosen few still standing. Trunks blackened and scarred. Survivors of a wildfire. Young trees took advantage. Soaking up the abundant sunlight in the absence of their fallen parents. Nature’s viciously beautiful cycles were racking my brain. Until Reeves pulled up … Continue reading
Just a Typical Weekend
Largemouths on plastics. Perch on beetle spins. Fish for lunch and ducks for dinner. Brake jobs at dusk and a chicken coop first thing in the morning. What a weekend. It was hot. Like sweating in a cold shower hot. I needed some air conditioning. Reeves needed a hand with a few projects so I … Continue reading
You Never Forget Your First
I’ve always tagged along with my big brother Pete in the outdoors. As kids, we caught frogs during humid summer nights. We rode our bikes to ponds where we spent hours fishing for bass and bluegill. As an adult, we’ve seen the wicked snow squalls of big water diver duck hunting. And the early December … Continue reading
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