Hunt Report 2008
December 26/ 2008
Merry Christmas to all!! We are having another snowfall here and for the first time in a couple years, having a white Christmas. We werent able to get anyone to come up cougar hunting with us in between Christmas and New Years, but shortly after all these holiday festivities are done, we will be getting back out there chasing cougars and burning off some of the excess weight building up from all this turkey and pie!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year wishes to all. SL
December 20/ 2008
Well, we did get some snow....and lots of it!!!
The day my first cougar hunter arrived we received another foot at least overnight. The first day it snowed all day long, causing everything including the cats to slow down for the day, but still did manage to find 3 different tracks, but nothing large enough to pursue.
The second day we found 4 different tracks, including one big tom track. The tom took us for a 4 hour stroll, and eventually he made a fatal mistake...stopping to kill a 4x4 blacktail deer. He just layed down, getting ready for his gourmet meal when Deans hounds, Dot, Rosie and Butt decided to crash his party. We treed him within 400 yards of that kill sight.
Congratulations to Kelly on harvesting this awesome tomcat, it was a heck of a marathon. I saw some huge relief in Kelly's face when he saw the cat in the tree!!!
The next morning we went out to scout for more tracks, found another 4 tracks including another massive tom, as this track was smokin hot, we put the chase on him, and had it up a tree within a half hour. Another very big tom, and after some awesome pictures like the one below, we let him go for future hunts.
A big thanks to Dean and his hounds, which are the absolute best!!!
Sounds like it will be staying cold, so right after Christmas I will be calling another hunter to jump on the plane and come have some fun!!! SL
December 08/ 2008
Just got back from our deer season.
Definitely a slower season this year due to one major factor....warm weather...the stuff we all despise during our November Deer seasons. Most all the deer were moving as soon as it got dark as the day started to cool off. These giants are bundled up, ready for minus temperatures, and when it is well above freezing, they just don't move.
Largest whitetail we harvested in the Peace was 170, a beautiful 5x5 frame with 6 extra stickers. Congratulations Steve!!
Congratulations to Greg as well on his Mule Deer. An awesome buck.
One of the positive things coming out of this season, we did pass this year on some 160-165 class bucks, which I am very thankful to my guests for, they will be awesome bucks next year, as well we saw many deer on our cams that will be giants next season.
Thanks to all of our friends that hunted with us again this year and we are looking very forward to hunting with you all again.
Again thanks to Lou and Greg, for their huge help with the guiding.
Sounds like we are going to be getting snow on the Island here within the next few days, so I have to start gearing up for our cougar season.
Can't wait!!!! SL
A good buck we passed on to let grow, field scored 160-165, should be an awesome buck next season.
September 19/ 2008
We got him!!!!!
After 5 days of hunting this Big Bull, we finally closed the distance to 45 yards and my good friend Chipper from Texas had to make an awesome shot through a small window surrounded by brush. We saw this bull every day of the hunt, but always at 80+ yards and could never seem close the distance on him, especially with so many cows and calves watching for him.
The fifth morning, we found the herd moving into patch of poplars, and finally the wind was in our favor. We got ahead of the herd and waited for them in their favorite little bedding spot. Luck was on our side and the herd moved in bedding 60 yards away, with the big bull off to the side.
Another satellite bull came in behind us and started bugling a challenge to the big guy, causing quite an uproar all around us. Trying to get between the cows and the satellite bull, our big bull walked straight passed us while bugling. A quick little cow call stopped him in his tracks at 45 yards and that's all Chipper needed. The bull only walked 75 yards, before giving out his last bugle and died.
This bull should gross score around 357 and will rank very high in the Pope and Young.
Many thanks to Brad (Oli's Dad), George and Tracy for helping out. SL
September 05/ 2008
Our Roosevelt Elk season is just around the corner. We have some awesome bulls scouted out. The largest we have found so far is an 8x8, with huge crowns and has 25-30 cows with it. There are a couple dandy satellite bulls hanging behind the herd as well including one giant 7x7 with big mass and width.
It took a while to find these animals, it is un seasonally warm right now and they were tucked away in a little valley all by themselves. We are going to have to live with this Herd Bull until opening day!!! SL
August 20/ 2008
Found some time in between seasons here to get out in the boat with my family and friends. Managed to hook into a few salmon. It is an awesome sight seeing kids get so excited fighting these fish!!!! SL
June 13/ 2008
Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky one for Darrell from Texas.
The last bear of our Spring season, Darrell took a Big Island Bear after 3 days of hunting. Guides George (Fluffy), Glenn (Oli), and Ryan (La Fleur) were all along for the ride to finish off the season, and even "Roxy" our chocolate lab snuck into the picture taking for her moment of fame. This old Boar was travelling, covering ground fast, looking for either a sow to mate with, or a cub or newborn fawn for dinner, whatever came first. We followed him up an old grade for at least a mile before we could get a shot. Darrell had to make a very quick shot count, and he did a great job at that!!
All in all, it was an excellent Spring season, took some monster bears, got to hunt with some old friends and made a lot of new ones. To all our guests, a huge thank you for choosing to hunt with us, and I look very forward to hunting with you all again.
To all the Guides, Chef Joyce, Houskeeping and "Cookie maker" Tracey, I can't thank you enough for all your hard work, and for going that extra mile to make this season a huge success. I very much appreciate it.
Next hunt....Roosevelt Elk!! SL
June 9/ 2008
Took a huge bear today!!! Should be close to 21 inches, and for sure well over 7 feet. On our first afternoon of the hunt, Marty, a good buddy of mine from Texas, and myself snuck up on this monster as it was following a sow, he had no idea we were there, letting us sneak up to within 60 yards, while he was making sure no other boars got within flirting distance. This bear was so big we struggled for a half hour, just to try and get it into a position for pictures. I look forward to our next hunt together Marty and watch out for those landslides!!! SL
June 7/ 2008
Another week I will remember for a long time. I had the pleasure of hunting with 12 year old Bart from Texas, along with his father John. Bart took a giant bear the first day of the hunt, making a perfect shot at 125 yards. Bart had to wait close to a half hour for the shot opportunity to present itself while the big boar courted a pretty little sow. We made Bart turn his head!!! Like the week before with Joey, he was amazingly calm and made the shot count. Once he got to his big boar and actually held it in his hands, I don't think John or I got a word in for at least an hour!!!! Excellent job Bart, and I am already practising to make sure I beat you in our truck music trivia next time we hunt together!!!!
Bart's father John harvested yet another giant boar the following day, an old warrior that showed major signs of age.
Also congratulations to Steve, Tony and Terry on their great bears this week as well. SL
June 01/2008
What a week!! The rut is kicking in full swing now. We are seeing big boars travelling in search of their mate and some already courting. We took some very big boars this week including a very special bear taken by a Boy named Joey from New Jersey. What made this bear so special other than its 7 ft length and 20 inch skull, was that Joey is 13 years old and this bear was the first Big Game animal he has harvested.
He was absolutely calm setting up for his shot, ( a lot more calm than myself and Fluffy!!!!), and his shot placement was perfect. His father George was with him as well and was very proud. I have never seen a smile so big when he walked up to his bear. It is quite evident in his picture. Good work Joey!!! SL
May 10/2008
Just finished off our hunt with my good friends Bruce, Keith and Rob from Las Vegas. Just like last year we combined their Spring Bear hunt with a dry ground Cougar hunt. The group all took big boars and on the fourth day of tracking and a lot of hard work and effort by Dean and his dogs, they managed to put up a very nice Tom in the tree. Congrats to Bruce on his first cougar and a nice one at that!! I look very forward to hunting with these guys again next year. SL
May 4/ 2008
Our Spring season had a bit of a slow start with some terrible weather, but we all teamed up, worked hard and hunted through it. One of the few times over the last 20 years of guiding I remember hunting bear in snow blizzard like conditions.
We have harvested some huge bears already this season, our last group of returning customers harvested 5 bears in 2 days with one skull measuring in the high 20's and another of the bears was for sure the oldest bear I have ever seen. The face was covered in grey hair, and the underside of his chin was pure grey, his belly had grey and the hair on his body was unlike any I have ever seen, short and ringlet looking? An old warrior and an amazing trophy.
A thank you, and congratulations to all our guests so far this season on their tremendous bears, we are looking forward to hunting with you all again.
A new group arrives today, can't wait to get back out there to find another bruiser!!! SL
April 2/ 2008
We are getting all set for our Spring Bear Season. Warming up, grass is getting green and already seeing a few out. Its's going to be another good one!!
January 25/ 2008
Finally snowed, Just had a couple very good friends up, Bob and Jimmy managed to take a couple monster cougars. Bob harvested his with his bow and it will record well into the P&Y. Jimmy planned on harvesting his cat with his bow as well, until his shot at 10 yds shattered his arrow and jumped the string off the cam. Three of us tried pressing the bow to get the string back on with no luck. His should still make B&C. Again an amazing job by Dean and Lloyd and their dogs!! SL
January 15/ 2008
Just got back from the Dallas Safari Club annual convention where I have a booth every year and had a great time meeting up with old friends and making new ones. SL
January 1/ 2008
Happy New Year!! Spent New Years Eve, packing a big cougar out of the bush, should be 140 to 150 pounds. SL