HUNTING WITH A VERSATILE VIZSLA
![]() Lagniappe's
Blazing Star "Blaze"
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2008 - 2009 4th year of hunting Page 5
Next Stop was Sylvan State Park. I camped one night here just so I could get a badly needed shower. After spending most of my time in the forest, it was a bit of civilization shock. Now seeing more people at one time than I had seen in over a week. I was lucky in that I had great campers on either side and enjoyed visting with them, but not what I came to Colorado for. It was a beautiful Park. I did go in search of some Snipe hunting grounds nearby, but found the area too dry
What is this?????
What I did find was a creek full of nothing but Brown Trout. I caught a few and it was the final trout I needed to have caught all four of Brook, Rainbow, Cutthroat, and Brown Trout. Very brushy, and could only catch the fish in the Beaver Ponds along the creek. Some of the more challenging flyfishing I have done as the trout had been fished hard and where smart.
Blaze watching my every move as I pack up. Note I also unloaded the Kayak and fished the lake with Blaze before I left. Probably the most clear lake I have ever seen. Just too many people, so I did not stay long.
Next I headed to far North West Colorado. First stop was Rattlesnake State Wildlife Area to look for Sage Grouse. Made a loop of the place and found none. Possible it had been hunted the day or two before on the opening of season. But it was a learning experinece as I was unfamiliar with Sage Grouse habitat and really did not know what I was doing. Nor did Blaze.
I also drove around and scouted
some of the area BLM land for hunting. What surprised me was the number of
Antelope. These are on public land. All the antelope pictures that follow come
from Public Land. Yes, I will start building Colorado Preference Points
starting next year. One day I will be back to hunt them. Much of this part of
the trip turned into an Antelope scouting trip. :-)
From there, I really did not know where I was going to go or where I was going. I just started driving. At one point I passed what was obviously some large predator's lair.
I would check some BLM map
software on my laptop to check for public lands wherever I ended up. I stopped
on a desolate BLM road within a sea of Sage somewhere northwest of Maybell
and not far from the Yampa River. This is where I parked and set my tent. I
chose to take a picture of the Moon rise rather than the Sunset.
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