11-24-2005, 04:27 PM
Predawn found me getting my hunting clothes on , a quick look outside and I knew I woUld have a little bit of snow to contend with , boy was that an understatement .
Normally a five minute walk to the state land turned into fifteen because of the whiteout conditions I encountered . Several times I had to wait a few minutes untill I had my bearings back , the snow was that bad .
The two inches of snow the weatherman had predicted had turned to twelve within the three hours I hunted .
I hit a few pinestands , trecked thru the cedar swamp and scoured a few oak laden hills looking for any signs of movement , any track found would have to be fresh and the stalking hunt would be on .
Nothing ! Not one hoofmark , the closest thing to anything huntible was a grey squirlle , brave little guy too , it's bitter cold out in the woods .
I didn't spook anything out of the blowdowns , couldn't see anything hunkering under the pine branches , in fact it was hard enough seeing my own tracks behind me after just a few minutes .
Normally I would be either on the Manistee or Au Sable rivers this time of year steelhead fishing . I should have gone fishing instead .
Fishing will come this weekend , for now , turkey and all the fixings are being prepaired as I type .
Maybe this evenings hunt will produce some venison , cranberry sause I hear makes a great coverscent .
[signature]
Normally a five minute walk to the state land turned into fifteen because of the whiteout conditions I encountered . Several times I had to wait a few minutes untill I had my bearings back , the snow was that bad .
The two inches of snow the weatherman had predicted had turned to twelve within the three hours I hunted .
I hit a few pinestands , trecked thru the cedar swamp and scoured a few oak laden hills looking for any signs of movement , any track found would have to be fresh and the stalking hunt would be on .
Nothing ! Not one hoofmark , the closest thing to anything huntible was a grey squirlle , brave little guy too , it's bitter cold out in the woods .
I didn't spook anything out of the blowdowns , couldn't see anything hunkering under the pine branches , in fact it was hard enough seeing my own tracks behind me after just a few minutes .
Normally I would be either on the Manistee or Au Sable rivers this time of year steelhead fishing . I should have gone fishing instead .
Fishing will come this weekend , for now , turkey and all the fixings are being prepaired as I type .
Maybe this evenings hunt will produce some venison , cranberry sause I hear makes a great coverscent .
[signature]