As I sit here and post this I am blessed to be staring out across the southern Colorado Rockies. The temperature is about 58 degrees and I just got off the phone with my dad back in Oklahoma where the temp was hovering around 104. Several days ago my family and I stole a couple of days and came out here to do some trout fishing, though, truth be told, that was really just an excuse to get away from the heat of Oklahoma. Welding shops and hay fields tend to lose their luster by the first of August. In all reality I ought to be ashamed of myself because in less than 4 weeks I will turn around and make the trek back to this area because I have a pretty good mulie tag in the desk drawer back home. That will be the first stop in a gut-busting fall that will hopefully see no less than four different species walk in front of me. Big ideas,I know, but thankfully in a few short days the fall seasons will be in full swing. I can’t wait!
My son, Eli Fate, the real fisherman in the family. Dad didn't catch anything!
Even in a storm the Colorado Rockies are magnificent.
This year’s shed season had it’s ups and downs. We found a couple of sheds from deer we know very well. We unfortunately found some dead bucks that were on our hit list for this year.
This deer is nicknamed Top Hat.
There are a lot bigger deer on the property but we've been seeing this deer for a long time. He's on my hit list for this year.
Here are Top Hats sheds from the past couple of years.
One weekend worth of shed hunting.
This is a big six pointer. We've got three years of his sheds and he's always been a six pointer. Not sure how he died but he was laying right next to a pond.
Found this one buried in the ice and snow. By the looks of it he probably broke a leg trying to cross a big ditch.
Opening week in California did not let us down with the temperature reaching 105 degree’s.
My buddy was able to put a good buck down. As I drew the sort straw on this one. Justin and I put a plane in motion to make a stalk he was able to cut the distance in half to make a great shoot at 58 yrd.
As the week whent on and the temperature keept creeping up I was able to catch a glimps of the buck Im after
Just got home from New Zealand. Hunted tahr on the South Island and red stag on the North. Sure is a beautiful country.
Since Cade was having trouble getting the shoulder of the barbs on his arrows thru the scales of these tough fish, I “tweeked his points a bit giving them a little cutting edge to help the barb get thru…
The next fish he hit on this beautiful morning, was very solid hit, but ended with the line tangling around a rock and the fish pulling off. We’re getting closer all the time..
On this fish, I decided that we’d both shoot at it in case his arrow wasn’t in good enough, hoping my arrow would be in it in case so he could land it with my arrow. I shot on his release. Both arrows hit the water at about the same time…unfortunately it was only my arrow in the fish…but he did get to land it….
Another night of bowfishing with our friend Terry on his little boat proved to be a little slow because of the tide and muddy water. But again Cade got a good hit on a fish that tangled in some heavy vegetation. We did a little action though…
Earlier this week, I squeezed in a quick evening ‘chuck hunt…
That brings us to yesterday morning…. Cade decided to sleep in, so I hit the river at very first light with good friends Glen and Gary. We got in about an hour of bowfishing before the rain hit…
Gary, Glen, and myself…
Later in the day, the rain stopped and Cade and I hit a pond for a couple hours of froggin’ before dark….
A cool sneak, then shot…
Another good shot with his little longbow almost parallel to the ground…
Cade did a lot of the shooting and ended up with 8 big frogs, we shot 12 all together on a very hot, humid evening…
Anybody with young kids eager to get out there and do some “hunting”. Find a pond with some frogs, get a whole bunch of arrows, and let them have a blast! You’ll end up with some fine table fare as well…
Don’t let summer be a slow time just waiting for fall to get here, get out and get after some fish and frogs!
I say “we’ve” because for the last month or so it’s been all about getting my son Cade more involved in what I do. Not just tagging along like he has been for a couple years now, but getting to carry his bow and shoot some arrows with a purpose!
I’ve been holding him back from bowfishing because I didn’t think his equipment was “strong enough” to get an arrow enough into a fish to land.
Well I couldn’t hold him back any longer, and at the end of June, we started a quest to get him a fish or two.
Cade’s “almost first shot”…
His very first time out, and very first shot ever at a carp…
Almost!!!!
The next adventure was an invite from a good friend to bowfish on an awesome boat, the “Carp-ageddon”!
Getting ready to shove off…
We had a great time and he hit several fish, but just didn’t get the barb in far enough and just came up with scales more than once…
I managed to make good on a few…
Cade and our host, Terry Receveur…
Me and Terry with one of his fish…
Terry’s son Tyler and myself with a couple…
A great experience for both of us and certainly a night either of us will ever forget…
Still no fish landed for Cade, but now I knew I definitely needed to “tweek” his equipment a little before next time…
Next up would be some froggin’. First time I’ve ever done it with a bow, and certainly his first time as well.
Cade’s first ever “bowkill”…
He didn’t stop there…
He did most of the shooting, but I did get in a few shots myself. With one strike against me, I made good on the second swing…
Check out Cade’s stalk and his last shot of the evening…
He ended up with 6 when the smoke cleared…
Nine all together…
Another awesome experience for both of us…my boys first bowkill!!!
To be continued…
What a great country we live in where you can do fun stuff like this over the 4th of July. God bless the men and women who have served our country, giving us the freedom to enjoy the outdoors.Just a lil’ sow. Steep 29 yd (shot for 22) quartering away shot. First hog I saw of the weekend. Quick stalk down one side and up the other side of the canyon, and intercepted her on her way to water. I should have taken a pic, but the hole the RazorTrick put in the chest of this thing was insane, it was like throwing an axe through through the pig! LOL.
Also managed to catch some mediocre pics of a nice buck. This may not seem all that exciting to big muley hunters, but bear in mind this is a southern Cal buck that lives only an hour away from Los Angeles. He is a genuine monster for So Cal.
And lastly, here’s a pic of my new designated ranch driver.
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