Emma and I spent last Saturday fly fishing on the lake. We picked up some small ones on the fly. I was using my 4 wt rod but had my 8 wt with me just in case we saw some schooling stripers. We didn't see any, but we did have a great time together and enjoy a beautiful sunset!
I left for Colorado on October 11 to join my Great Uncle Dick for the first elk rifle season. I've never hunted elk, so having the chance to join him was quite an adventure. We set up camp on Friday in time to take the horses up the mountain for a quick scouting trip. We came to a large clearing and immediately saw a herd of elk. Game on! I couldn't wait for the next morning (opening day) to come. Saturday, we got up around 4am, ate breakfast, drank our coffee, and fed the horses before heading up the mountain. We weren't sitting at "Uncle Dick's Meadow" for very long when I looked over, pulled up the bines, and saw an elk. I pointed the cow I saw out to my uncle, and he immediately saw several more. My heart started to beat faster and I was ready to plan a stalk to get closer. My uncle, being the wiser and more experienced elk hunter suggested we take the horses around to where he thought they would come out. That was a good plan! We saw the elk still up near the top of a peak, and when they hid themselves in some thick pines, we found a good place in a bed of aspens to sit and wait. It wasn't too much longer before we saw the herd cross an open section and head into some more pines (hopefully to come out to a larger open section or a meadow right in front of us). This is when I got a good look at a nice bull. I thought my uncle was going to wait for a really good shot on the bull, so I was suprised to hear "BOOM" and then to see a large cow dropping and falling down the mountain. We celebrated together, still not believing how everything worked out just right. Then, the work began. We climbed the mountain to find the elk, taken at 360 yards, and i had to stop and rest several times because of the altitude and steepness of the terrain. We estimated the weight of the cow to be 500-600 pounds, field dressed her, and began the long drag down the mountain to the place we'd leave her overnight. The next morning, it was raining at our campsite, but as we climbed the mountain, the rain turned to snow and it continued to snow on us all day. We cut the elk in 5 pieces, packed the meat on my uncle's horse, and then headed back to camp where we hung and skinned the meat. the next morning, we headed home, tired and sore from some really hard work. I will never forget this amazing experience with my uncle in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.
Tonight was simply INCREDIBLE on Lake Murray. I convinced Brooke to go on a "date" with me on Lake Murray. Reluctantly, she said "yes," so off we went. I was really hoping that we'd catch a few fish, but I had no idea that when we anchored down in 35 feet of water and threw out the first live herring that we'd have a fish on before the bait hit the bottom of the lake. Then, the next cast only stayed in the water about 15 seconds before "WHAAMO!" Then, 3 more times all in the matter of 20 minutes or so. I could not believe it. I set the hook each time and Brooke fought them all the way in. I told her on the way home that she fought the fish and kept tension on the rod better than most people that I've taken fishing. She replied with, "Duh, I watch all the fishing shows with you on OLN." What a woman!
There were turtles EVERYWHERE!
I know, the drake looks like he's dead, but he was just eating something beneath the surface.
The other day, I took the 1995 Suzuki Intruder 1400 for a ride to Lexington to hang out with the family. I decided to take the scenic route through Chapin, Little Mountain, Prosperity, Batesburg, and Gilbert. It made for a nice trip on a Sunny day.
I had the privilege of fishing for Stripers on Lake Murray today with my friend David and another friend of his. The trip started at 7:00am (50 degrees) at the dam and was guided by Captain Steve Wise, an experienced fishing guide. The wind was blowing a little and when the sun was behind the clouds, it got a little chilly. We caught about 20 fish in 3 different locations. The fish would bite on and off throughout the day and we ended up with 14 keepers including some 8-10 pounders. Here's a few of them.
My friend Eric called this old bird for me today after battling him for several hours. The mature gobbler had an 11 inch beard with 1 1/4 inch spurs that curled and were super sharp! We were hunting in Springfield with permission from my friend Rufus (left). One week ago, Rufus and I hunted turkeys and came close to bagging a gobbler several times. First, we walked up on two birds who were fighting. We thought they were going to come in on us at first, but they disappeared. Soon after that, I saw a strutting gobbler just behind some trees and out of range. We battled yet another bird who I think could have been the one Eric and I took today, but were never able to get a shot. We hunted the birds again on Saturday and were in the woods all day (except for a lunch break at the barbecue place). Despite our patience, the only birds we saw were a couple of hens in a field as we were walking out. The birds gobbled early and must have hit the ground running the opposite direction, so we really didn't hear or see much all day. We did see a few wood ducks and several snakes.
