2008 2009 Hunting Season

Day two, I headed to some BLM land that had been recommended to me by a Colorado member of the Refuge Forum. First try at a walkabout put Blaze and me in a mine field of some sort of Cholla Cactus that was hard to see, grew low to the ground and had balls of barbed spines. These round balls of needles would stick to anything that came close to them. Blaze got them in her feet, angles, and on her face. I would get them in me when removing them. It was time for armor, so out came the boots, tape, and chest protector. Blaze is like a kid with new tennis shoes with that stuff. It makes her "go fast".

Hunting the Sage can be overwhelming. You just look out and wonder "where do I begin".

Walking and Walking, Blaze still hunting out ahead like an Energizer Bunny I was reaching a point of giving up. At a moment when I was thinking to myself about what the bar owner in Stockton Kansas told me about Pheasant hunting on public land. He said to "always believe there is a pheasant ahead no matter how bad it gets". "Always be ready or you will come home only seeing pheasants and not taking them". I looked back up and "Oh my God!". Blaze was on point and way out there. I could see her creeping and I could tell the bird was beginning to run. Off she went and up went the big grouse. Fortunately it is big open country and I could see where it came down. Heeling Blazer and double timing it I reached the point it came down. It was just over a rise, so it did not see us. We pushed it up and with a wide left sweep up the gun dropped it. It was flopping like a Turkey and Blaze having been used as a catch dog on Turkey hunts before jumped right in and pinned it by the back. Feathers coming up around her as if she where "Edward Scissor Hands". Finally got my first Sage Grouse.

That night the menu included a Jambalaya with Pasta that included diced breast meat of Sage Grouse, Dove, and Snipe. As well as some sliced hot brats. It was quite good.

After a morning of rest and repacking the truck, a long drive to Steamboat Springs to make some calls and fill up with diesel, I headed back to Arapaho NWR near Walden again. I had hoped for another Snipe hunt, but was met with storms. Bad ones, so I got very little walking/hunting in. But sitting on a bluff over the refuge watching the storms was nice. The mountains where turning whiter and whiter as I watched.

I also made a stop at Hebron??? Waterfowl area when I found it was not far from the Cabin. I considered it for a Snipe hunt, but a short scouting walk found none, so I moved on. I know one there, there were definately a lot of waterfowl here which is what it is there for.

That night and all the next day it rained and rained. The hunters in the Forest near my cabin had mostly cleared out, so I checked out the Routt Forest for some fishing. At Teal lake I found the campground and picnic area closed to access due to all the dead trees falling. Beatle damage had devastated the forest here and many of my pictures show the trees brown. They are dead, that is not fall colors. I did find a back road to the other side of the lake and fished during breaks in the rain. This is probably the only time I really did not fly fish. Using a spinning rod with various spinners I caught over 100 rainbow trout this day. I caught trout till my fingers hurt. At one time I saw two fish leap out of the water together fighting over my spinner. Also caught one small Cut-Bow that I ended up having to keep because it had got hooked too deep. These were "stockers" that apparently had never been fished for much due to the area parks in the forest closing. Unfortunately any pictures are locked up in a corrupted camera card, but hoping to retrieve them later.