Clasic Grouse Hunting Photo

When I was going through a box of old photographs the other night, I came across this great shot of Susie's grandpa and his hunting companions who hunted the upper peninsula for years.  They look like they just came off of a LL Bean catalog cover.  What a great looking bunch.

 

  Over the holidays I'm going to see if I track down any more info on this crew.  

 

The ruffed grouse has been called the all-American gamebird, partridge, pats, ruffs, native pheasants and some unprintable names by hunters who experience the bird's uncanny talent for avoiding shotgun pellets. A good day of grouse hunting comes complete with fresh air, the scent of pine and spruce, beautiful fall colors and the smell of a dew-soaked dog. The early season hunter, in mid September, may encounter green leaves and tough hunting. Without a dog the birds take to the air from dense cover and more times than not, the thundering sound of their explosive flush is all that you get for your efforts. You can increase your odds a bit by knowing or surveying your hunting area and planning the best way to hunt it. It is always desirable to position hunters in such a way that the flushing bird will be likely to venture into some kind of opening.  Another good cause for an argument around the campfire, what gun and shells to use. Personally I use Big Jim's old Remington 1148 28 gauge it's a nice little gun that you  can carry all day, with 7-1/2 or 8 shot, either game loads or good target rounds. A little smaller or a little bigger is fine.

The everyman's bird will fall to whatever you have in the closet, even Grandpa's old duck gun. But if you try a gun more matched to the challenge of the ruffed grouse on the fly, you won't be disappointed.   

 

I  finished up the school week and after a quick trip to the store  I took off for the stream.  The water cress has really taken off with the warm temperatures we've had so far this winter. The fact that areas of the creek support water cress plants is a positive sign.  

 

An article in our local paper recently reported that successful brown trout reproduction has been confirmed on another Jackson county stream, bringing the total to 46 Iowa streams with reproducing populations.   

 

 

 

 Brown Trout generally spawn between October and December by depositing and fertilizing their eggs in shallow depressions in the riverbed. These light colored depressions are called "redds." The trout's requirements for a successful redd area are quite specific. As anglers, understanding these requirements will not only help us in identifying redds; but key us in on river locations that we may want to concider avoiding during the most critical period in the Brown Trout's yearly cycle. 

So, I  stuck to the deeper holes.  After creeping up and seeing several nice trout flash, I managed to place a spinner in just down stream from a bank hide that held this nice trout.

 

It's about time...