I arrived early and did some scouting and blind prep and the birds were in all of their usual locations as well as utilizing some of the new habitat improvements and food plots we implemented in 2009. It is always very satisfying to see the wildlife use and benefit from my work. Its like the field of dreams, build it and they will come.

Trevon had a few close calls, it seemed something just went wrong every time a big Tom came in, a tree would be blocking the view for the camera, a branch would be blocking his shot, something would get bumped in the blind and the birds would retreat. But, I did manage to harvest a very nice mature Tom, things just came together. Bowhunting is never easy, but that is why it is so much fun too.

Seeing the snow break open directly above me and then rush down on me like a water fall is an image I will have for the rest of my days. The impact of the wall of snow rocked me into the side of the cab on the snow cat and pushed the cat from level to about 10 to 15 degree angle. Thankfully it didn’t push me over the edge or roll me over.

Life is tough up here on the mountain, I am careful and cautious but sometimes unexpected events happen that can literally kill a guy.

This March trip has become tradition with us guys. It is so great to see the Elktrout clan again.  I learned so much about what I do from these guys in particular. Marty, Jon and Randy are some of the best outdoors men and ranch hands I know.  It is an honer to be able to call these guys friends.

Me and my bird dogs? or Fish dogs?

Randy

Jon

Marty

Adam

Finding the Permit was as much a challenge as fooling them with the perfect cast, fly and presentation. Fortunately, the keen eyes and expansive knowledge of the Garbutt brothers (our guides) put me into Permit each day. Seeing a tailing permit sends a rush of adrenaline through my system; my legs start shaking, my eye sight narrows, and my heart rate increases. Just over a fish, it is the same rush I get when I get a bull elk to respond to my call, or as my stalk closes in on a bedded mulie buck. Its the rush we all strive for in the outdoors no matter what your game is.

Once tails or busy water is observed the stalk is on; get the sun to our backs no sudden movements, stay low, watch for the tails. When the tails are up, that means the fishes eyes are down, time to take the shot. And that is exactly what it is. One shot, one cast and it had better be perfect. No time for false casting, you get maybe one and you need to get the rod to load up with that one cast, then the with 15 foot leader and heavy fly your timing must be absolutely perfect. Performing these fine motor functions under the influence of adrenaline is no easy feat.  As the Permit are feeding in the shallow flats, their field of view is very small, the fly must land in this field of view often times less than a 10 inch square. This 10 inch square is often more than 60 feet away, that is a long cast for me with a fly rod and to hit this magic spot is as much luck as skill for me.

As hard as it is to get the perfect shot on a Permit, the fly and presentation needs to be perfect as well.  The Permit are very wary as they leave their deep water haunts and move into the shallow flats to feed. Then too, they are very intelligent as far as fish go. I like to say that I think I should be able to outsmart any fish that swims, right? My melon sized brain matched up to the fishes little pea sized brain, I should win every time. Well, I have come to understand that a fishes little pea sized brain is 100% devoted to survival while my big old melon has maybe a pea sized portion in it devoted to catching fish. When it the case of Permit, it is clear to me that their brain functions at a higher level than that little pea area in my big old melon.  But that is why when you do make the perfect cast, the fly lands close enough for the Permit to see but not so close that is spooks, you have a nice little crab imitaiton on the end of your line, the presention is teasing and keeping the permits attention, he follow the fly, but as I am striping in the line the action is getting closer and closer to the boat, will the Permit see me, spook or just figue out that the crab she is chasing is a fake? Yes, useully they turn away and take off for the deep again. But, it is possible that I can fool one from time to time.

The “Eat” when it happens, if it happens is a time when just like bow hunting, it is the moment of truth. Can I keep my composure? Will I stay in control and set the hook quickly and firmly? If I can do this can I get the loose line out and on the reel without breaking the Permit off?  This is where mental toughness comes in a big way. You need mental toughness to sneak across flat after flat hoping for a sign of a permit. Many Permit fishermen may pursue this elusive fish for years and never get a decent shot at one. Mentally get the cast or shot in at the right time, quickly and accurately. Not many second chances on Permit. One of the guys that I was fishing with had logged almost 30 days of exclusivly pursing Permit with a fly and had never had an “eat” in all this time.  Yes, the “Eat”, as I like to call it. This is where everything can go right or wrong. One permit we had eat but the fly went into the fishes crushers, where they kill the crabs they catch, and the crushers bent the hook to where the hook couldn’t set in the mouth. Always something that can go wrong, I had 6 eats in 3 days. By the way that is incredible for Permit fishing.

The hook set. When you see the mouth open on your fly, and feel the line tighten a little bit on the eat. So much depends on how I can set the hook. A quick and firm strip set is what works, don’t lift the rod like its a little trout. Strip set that fly right into that fat old lip. Then the fight is on. The first run that Permit have is incredible. They are running for the deep water and the fly line simply disappears off the reel, then into the ocean. I just keep hoping that the Permit will slow down before I run out of backing.  Strong and fast are not the only tricks a Permit will pull when the fight has begun. Remember, these fish are uncanny in their intelligence too. A coral head, an old Mangrove root, or other obstacle will almost always draw a fighting Permits attention.  They not only fight hard, they fight flat out dirty too. Rubbing the fly along the bottom trying to pull it out, swimming strait for a coral head and then taking a 90 degree turn on it to wrap the leader and fly line up or shooting underneath an old Mangrove root are just a few of the tricks Permit pulled on me this trip.  Just hooking a permit doesn’t mean you can catch one.

For me I was lucky, I managed to land two permit in 3 days.  A large part of it was luck, but also skill, mental toughness and composure. Not giving up after looking at empty flat after empty flat, staying alert for a little flash, some busy water, a tail breaking the surface in the distance, skill in casting and fighting fish. But even as proud as am to have landed a couple Permit on a fly, the real value to me is always the experience, being in the tropics, spending time with old friends and making new ones, and getting the heck off the ranch and away from all the snow for 3 days.

The holy grail of fly fishing a "Permit"

As many of you know, fly fishing is as big a passion for me as bow hunting. I like to try and get to to the flats to try my hand at permit, bonefish,  tarpon and other salt water species at least once a year. Getting of the mountain at this time of year is much needed and wading around in the ocean stalking and casting at all the flats game fish. A great time and a great activity to participate in when the snow is continuing to pile up and the cold is unrelenting on the mountain.

I feel that when archery hunting elk, first and foremost, is you need to simply be able to enjoy the experience. For me just having a close encounter with a rut crazed bull is as rewarding as harvesting that big herd bull.  My first bit of advice is to just enjoy the moment, enjoy the hunt and the people you are with. If you base your success on just the harvest, I feel you miss out on so much of what archery hunting for elk is all about.

The bull pictured below is a great example of a close call.  When calling to elk, or any game for that matter, I try to create an illusion of a scenario where that bull would naturally come to.  Calling is more than just making elk noises, it is knowing how to “communicate” with a particular animal. This bull was a classic example of this.  There were four or five bulls bugling in the canyon below where my hunter and I were listening from.  I guessed there were 40 to 50 elk in the herd, the wind was not perfect but workable, my hunter was capable of getting into position so we made a play. Now here was the challenge, how do I make my set up more attractive and enticing than 40 to 50 real elk, all talking their fool heads off? A cross wind that is far from perfect and a fairly new archery elk hunter that is still needing some coaching on how to set up, when to move, when to sit, etc.  1st thing we did, before ever making a call was to find a spot close to the elk, but were I could call out of sight of the elk but in sight of my hunter. We found a great “break” in the hill that would accomplish this beautifully, as long as the wind holds… well it was looking like a good set up.

Now for the calling, how do I get a bull to leave 40 to 50 cows? First I gave a lost cow call, then a minute or so later one more. Even though I didn’t get a response to either call, I knew that the bulls could definitely hear me.  Then I gave one more lost cow call with a squeelly little bugle right after… that did it, now I had one talking back! Ok, so now how do I keep the attention of this bull and get him to come upwind of my hunter? Can I get the bull committed or will I loose him to the mass of elk below? I hit the bull right back with an excited cow call, trying to say “hey big boy, get this little guy away from me…” but right as he bugles back to the cow call, I cut him off with another little squeelly bugle. Oh, that is just flat out rude was the bulls reply to me cutting him off!! But I can see now that I am getting under his skin, I have his full attention, and he is coming closer… perfect!  Now I would have liked to have set up closer to the herd, but with an inexperienced hunter, questionable wind, and a great spot to set up a little over 150 yards away from the herd….. well I made the most of the set up. The bull being an elk like he was started to circle down wind of my hunter and I, so I changed my location to keep the bull coming on a line that would bring him upwind and close to my hunter. All the time continuing my conversation and illusion of a small bull running off with a hot cow. Well, now I hear the bull has “hung up” I was anticipating this as we had to set up further away than what I find is typically successful distance to be. The bull would continue to respond to both the cow calls and the bugle, but was not wanting to leave the 40 to 50 cows in the canyon below. From experience, I could guess that this was as much as the calling would do, so I shut up. By going silent on the bull, I was giving my hunter and I the opportunity to move in closer of need be, or see if the bull’s curiosity would get the better of him. When the bull kept bugling at me after I quit calling I felt his curiosity might get the best of him, then after a few more bugles at me without a response, the next bugle was closer, a lot closer. Then I could see his tan hide moving thru the brush but he was going to be down wind of my hunter before a shot could be had, so quickly I made a soft cow call, it worked, he turned back on the “line” I had planned out for him. But now, I was so close he could tell right where the call came from. Good thing I picked a good set up spot as I had the break of the hill to my advantage, the bull now was 25 to 30 yards from my hunter and about 50 yards from me so I he could see where there should be a cow elk standing. Here is where a Montana decoy is a killer!! I had the decoy popped up but laying on the ground next to me, I slowly held the decoy up, saw I had the bulls attention and slowly dropped it back out of sight. That did it! Here he comes! When the bull was 10 yards from my hunter I stopped him with a loud and quick cow call in the best shooting lane my hunter had. Everything was perfect, the elk 10 yards away from the hunter, his full attention on my location, but he quartered his shoulder towards the hunter. So close but no shot at all. He stood here for a what seemed like a life time and finially detected that something was just not quite right and turned and walked away without ever offering an ethical shot.  I was able to snap a quick picture of him here right before he walked into the shooting lane.

For me, working the bull, getting him close to my hunter, and having that experience is what I live for.  I hope by me sharing my story, I am keeping the fire in you for next September and maybe you learned a little too.

More lions, had one walk through my horses last night, we turned the dogs out on it this morning and put a female up a tree.  The guys with the dogs, Andy Julius Outfitters, have a hunter in that is wanting a Tom. I hope the experience for her getting chased will be enough to keep her away from the horses.  We found a good Tom track this afternoon, but all the new snow that has fallen and blown in the track was making it very difficult for the dogs to trail.

Large snow fall and being sick are never a good combination, had the truck stuck today for about 3 hours. It was all I could do to dig the tires out for chains and walking to get another truck to help tug.  I sure could use some help up here from time to time.  Its all good, part of living my dream up here in the Rockies.

Late season cow harvests are a good way to monitor body condtions going into the winter

Another factor in Wildlife Habitat to take into account when looking at the winter range quality is just how well are the elk and deer fairing.  How well the elk and deer are wintering, has a direct correlation to the quality of antler growth for the next growing season and the health and survivability of the fawns/calves for the upcoming spring. (more on why fawn/calf recruitment is key when looking at where to plan your future hunts)  Several of the factors that I look at when determining the condition of wintering elk and deer are: Body Fat measurements from Late Season cow harvests; Feild Judging body condition; and the how the animals behave.

I like to use my late season cow hunts mainly to control the population of elk here at the ranch. But I have also started to take notes on the body fat that the harvested cows are carrying.  I measure the amount of fat on the back and rump as well as the amount of fat on or around the kidneys. It is good to see from year to year how the amount of fat on the elk varies.  Even though the fat is a result of the summer/fall range conditions, it gives me a very good idea on how well the local population should winter.  If you have the chance to hunt a late season cow in your hunting area take notes from year to year on the amount of body fat on the elk as they head into winter and see how this correlates to the quality of antler development for the following fall.

I realize that not all of us can look at 20 to 30 harvested cow elk a year and take notes on the body condition as I do, but we can all take a weekend to go on the winter range in our favorite hunting areas and field judge body condition.  When trying to determine the body condition on the winter range it is often easy to spot the animals that are not going to survive, once the ribs are clearly showing these animals will most likely not survive.  Even in mild winters there are always going to be a few individuals that are going to look to be in bad shape, don’t focus too much on the few individual animals that are going to die.  What I like to do is look at the population as a whole.  Look for the angle of the rump.  If the majority of the animals you see still have a good round shape, the population as a whole should be good. But, if the rumps have a distinctive angle, or sloping look, the herd is suffering.  Also, look at the coat conditions of the herd.  When the animals start to stress, the coats loose the oils that keep it shinny and healthy.  If the coats look “bleached out” or rough, this is a sign that the animals are losing their energy reserves and if they survive the winter, they will have a longer recovery in the spring before they can put energy into antler production and will most likely have lower birth rates/lower survivability rates on the fawn/calf crop.

One other area that I view is just how the animals behavior is affected by the stress winter brings. The basic things I look for are:  How alert are they or do they seem sluggish?  How are the animals interacting with one another? How well do they travel? How is the head and ears held?  If the animals on your winter range are alert, you see them chasing each other or having small fights, they are traveling to and from feeding/bedding areas, and when moving heads are high and ears forward and moving. These are all signs that the herd is healthy and doing well.  If the animals seem sluggish, are feeding and bedding in the same spot, are allowing people to get close, heads down and droopy ears, these are signs that the herd is starting to stress from the winter conditions, and are trying to save as much energy as possible.

I hope some of these basics on winter range will help you when planning your hunt next fall. Please remember that even in a mild winter the elk and deer are slowly starving to death until the spring green up. Do not try to approach wintering animals, leave the shed hunting until the spring green up has begun and turn in any poaching.  The winter and winter range is the main limiting factor to our elk and deer populations, so please do not add to their stress levels.

When looking at the plants that are being browsed on (I could write volumes on this) I look to see what the elk and deer are browsing on: exposed grasses and forbes; or are they focusing more deciduous woody shrubs (sage brush, bitter-brush, service berry, etc); or if they are eating coniferous trees (juniper, fir, etc).  It has been my basic observation that when there is a good amount of grasses and forbes exposed or enough snow is melting to expose the ground, the elk and deer are getting through the winter in good shape, but if the winter range has been experiencing periods of drought and the exposed ground is bare, then I like to see what woody shrubs are being utilized.  What I hope to find is browsing pressure on the the more deciduous plants and I look to see if just the new growth and buds are browsed or if the elk and deer are starting to get into the stemy portions of the plant.  If the browsing pressure is getting into the old stemy growth, there could be major problems developing, not just for the current winter but for long term damage to the quality of the winter range.  If you are seeing the browsing pressure on the coniferous tress such as juniper, this is typically an indicator of a very sever winter and a good chance of high winter mortality in these areas.

It is good to run out to your hunting area if you can and check on the quality of the winter range and help plan your hunt for next fall. Also remember to use good judgment when in close proximity to wintering animals and be careful not to put any stress on the game with your presence as the winter can be hard enough on our next years bucks and bulls.