1st Scouting trip

On a tip from my vet I headed north in search of new coverts. A large hunting lease where he said his flush rate was as good as on his Michigan trips. As with any grouse hunter I'm always looking for new coverts, so leaving the setters at home because of the hot weather I journeyed into this unfamiliar cover. With the cover too thick for bushwacking I walked this old gas well road and was rewarded with 3 grouse flushes.

The remains of a large turkey. Perhaps a coyote kill ?
At another piece of cover I found aspen and marked my map accordingly.

Another area had an enormous amount of grapevines covering the smaller trees.

A sight to get any grousehunter's blood pumping. Another note on the map.

A sweet gum tree telling me that fall is fast approaching.

My dues have been sent in and I hope to have pics of some successful hunts with my setters and hammerguns this fall from my new hunting grounds.

A Secret Shared Part II

After I had shared my smallmouth stream with Russell he insisted that I come fish a small trout stream where he had permission to fish that was carefully managed for lunker Rainbows. Catch and release, barbless hooks, and supplemental feeding had produced some enormous trout. Down a farm lane passed an old house and barn we arrived at a small stream lined with huge willow trees.

After a pleasant talk with the stream owners, a handful of fish pellets revealed the monsters that lived there.

The really huge "Bows" were content to wait for more pellets, but I was lucky enough to tempt this nice one with my offering and was rewarded with an exciting battle. In our haste to get pics and return the fish safely to the stream I forgot to get a measurement but it's safe to say it was the biggest trout I've ever caught. Just to let you known what type of person Russell is he refused to cast a line and was happy being the guide on this most memorable trip.