Dove, it's what's for breakfast

The hawk hit the jackpot this am. We've been seeing him hunting and catching sparrows in the bushes but today was bigger quarry.

This one took him quite a while to devour.

I'm sure it wasn't this guy.

Now that the hawk is fed it's time for the praying mantis.

Big City, Big Adventure

Made the trek to the new Outdoor Adventure Center in Dtown. We had a really nice experience there. There is some construction going on but following the detour was easy. There's a free parking lot next to it for about 100 cars. after a short walk we were in.

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for kids. There are some vending machines but there's a large cafeteria type room to picnic in. The first displays are of MI's water sports. All very nice with a kayaking video in Wyandotte.

Then on to the great room with lots of info and waterfalls.

The second floor is for hunting and ski-do demo's.

The third level gives you an idea what it's like to be an eagle. Try to flap the wings.

Across the street is Milliken State Park with a great view of the river and an ecology walk that leads to the Riverwalk and a free merry-go-round ride.

All in all a great day.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

The Sky Is Falling

The old warning from a child's story. It just seems appropriate for the times we're in. First there are no walleye in the Detroit River, at least mid to upper. Been a long time since anyone can remember this. Soon the fall run will be here though.

Come fall though you won't be able to harvest a doe with bow and arrow in the UP. Oh those past winters were just terrible. The extra 1000 wolves that the land can support have nothing to do with it so we've heard. There are so many wolves that there are very few coyotes left, bad winter maybe. The kicker is that the beavers are down also, they live under the ice in winter so no excuse there. Now Minnesota is protecting their antlerless deer during bow season. Wisconsin is an other story.

Wisconsin's reaction to CWD in their state was to shoot as much as possible. All of their deer numbers are down and even the wolves aren't happy. Maybe peta is still giving them advice. Something really weird is going on there and I just hope we don't get any of their infected trout. This is a real pic and a mold that causes it.

Speaking of sky, I can remember as a young kid the uproar over the sputnik satellite. I was up way too late but I do remember seeing it pass over head. The space race was started then and eventually took us to the moon. Something my astrophysicist brother,  Roger, had been predicting when he was just a teen, much to the chagrin of family and friends. He knew then what we all know now, that when humans put their mind to it the impossible can happen. Now as a reminder to that feat you can look up to the sky and see the ISS, the International Space Station, at certain times and in clear skies. Go to http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/home.cfm and sign up for alerts for our area. You never know when you can see the living monument of the space race, international cooperation and human determination flying by. Hopefully other crazy thing happening now will meet some cooperation and balance out.

Get Outdoors Downriver

Big Canoe, Big Fun

Thru August at Oakwood Nature center the long boat canoe is taking tours of the Huron River.

It's amazing what goes on that can't be seen from shore.

 Or even deep into the aqua scape protected by impenetrable plant growth.

Then there's the friendly staff and critters at the center.

 Don't forget to explore the native hut.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

Antlerless Deer Permit Deadline

Per MI DNR

Antlerless deer license applications on sale until Aug. 15

The Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that the application period for antlerless deer licenses ends Aug. 15. Hunters may apply for one license in any open Deer Management Unit statewide; a nonrefundable $5 fee is charged at the time of application. Drawing results and leftover license availability may be viewed atwww.michigan.gov/huntdrawings beginning Sept. 2.

Hunters may apply for one private-land or public-land license online at E-License, or at any authorized license agent or DNR Customer Service Center. Young hunters, ages 9-16, also can purchase one junior antlerless deer license over the counter July 15-Aug. 15. No application is required. A 9-year-old must be 10 by Sept. 26 to purchase this license.

The 2015 antlerless deer license quotas for each DMU can be found atwww.michigan.gov/deer.

Hopefully your area has a quota.

Last Chance for Bear, Elk Permits

You have until June first @ 11:59pm to apply for hunting permits for bear or elk. Set an alarm so you don't forget. Here's the DNR's release.

Hunters can apply online at www.mdnr-elicense.com, at any authorized license agent or at a DNR Customer Service Center. A nonrefundable $5 fee is charged at the time of application. Hunters may purchase just one bear and one elk application.
Applicants may call the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-WILD (9453) by June 1 for assistance with their application and may check their drawing results online at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings beginning June 29 for both species. Also see the 2015 Michigan Elk Hunting Digest and 2015 Michigan Bear Hunting Digest for more details about the application processes. All hunting digests can be found online at www.michigan.gov/dnrdigests.
Applicants are responsible for submitting a valid application with the correct customer ID and application type. Make sure to check the receipt for accuracy and call the Wildlife Division immediately at 517-284-WILD (9453) if there are any mistakes.

Follow the bouncing Egg

The Whip is retire from the worlds best motor plant but he just got a promotion to ranger at his new cart riding job. He was making the rounds the other day when someone flagged him down. There's a duck nest near the driving range, thankfully not down range. I'm not sure how ducks handle the nest building and egg laying but just like a virus in your computer it doesn't take much for things to go wrong.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket but make sure they're all eggs!

Get Outdoors Downriver

Spring has smashed on the Detroit River. Not pumpkins but many 12 to 14 pound walleye.

Spring usually springs with plants emerging from their winter sleep. Not this year on the Detroit River where Spring has smashed all expectations about walleye fishing. The Coast Guard estimates over 1000 boats were plying the waters of the Detroit River last Saturday. No one could have expected the turnout that happened. All launches were backed up and words couldn't begin to describe the scene. In Wyandotte boats were backed up from the river to Biddle, to Goddard and south almost to Northline. A four hour wait to get to chase the walters and some were doing it.



Who can blame them when so many 12 - 14 lbers were being caught. Eight pound walleye considered trophies in many regions are put in coolers like nothing to cheer about. If you don't believe me call one of the bait shops on my Bait Shop link and they'll tell you all about it. It's one of those bazaar things that send grown men into a damn the torpedoes attitude to catch the fish of a lifetime.



With all the extra boats out there many were trying different spots to try and some were productive. With all of the boats out there it can hamper the walleye bite so when changing position back to the head of the drift a stealth mode is important, no wake speed. Some boats don't even take the trolling motor out of the water, not recommended. Yes a trolling motor is needed to stay in an optimal drift be it current or wind trying to get you off course. You want that jig to be directly below the boat for more hook ups.


Here's a new catch I haven't heard of in many years. Smelt. Steelhead and salmon are caught fairly regular now but smelt? Hopefully they're on a comeback and dipping will be available.
 







Remember to be careful on the cold water and Get Outdoors Downriver.

Mouillee Open Opportunity

The spring open house at Pointe Mouillee is coming up next month. This semi-annual event gives a unique experience of the area without having to walk in the 3-4 miles. This time of year there are many migrating birds, some that will bring squeals from the Audubon types. For most it's just a sensory overload trying to see everything at once but your neck and eyes aren't fast enough.

 

I'm hoping Joe Robison will be there this year. Joe is an outdoor show in the making, hence the moniker "Hollywood". Last year he made an entrance out of a helicopter this year who knows maybe one of those recue boats that go on land or water, either way Joe will make the tour entertaining.

So be there April 11 – 9 a.m. at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, 37025 Mouillee Road, Rockwood; 734-379-9692

These birding tours are part of the Michigan Waterfowl Legacy (MWL), a 10-year, cooperative partnership to restore, conserve and celebrate Michigan's waterfowl, wetland and waterfowl hunting community. The initiative is a "call to action" to honor yesterday, engage today and build for tomorrow.

To learn more about Michigan's Wetland Wonders, visit www.michigan.gov/wetlandwonders.

Get Outdoors Downriver

Nice Fall Detroit River Walleye Thanks to Mark Romanack

  A while back I shared a contest page on Facebook from Mark Romanack, Surprisingly to me I won a box full of fishing gear with a Mustang inflatable pfd and an Okuna low profile level wind reel. Thanks Mark.

 Professional fisherman to the extreme Mark strives to help anyone become a better fisher person. He hosts the Fishing 411 television show and has written many books about many aspects of fishing. Probably the most important would be the Precision Trolling book Mark wrote about the depth your lure will be trolling at a certain speed with a known line strength and the amount of line out. This is very important info when targeting a precise depth. Mark has spent many hours painstakingly in scuba gear documenting such info. Check out the Fishing 411 blog, facebook page and the tv shows on youtube.

Get Outdoors downriver.

A Tale of Two Enablers

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

  2014 was the best year I’ve ever had hunting and fishing, and I just turned 60, but the worst on a personal level. In September I lost my Brother in a car accident. He was heading back to his beloved Maine after a summer visit to the old stomping grounds. He was my birding tutor and I still enjoy bird watching to this day. Then in November I lost my Father in Law of 40 years. Not an unexpected event but one that shakes you to the core anyway. He was my hunting enabler.

My family never hunted or even owned sporting firearms. I never thought about hunting growing up instead fishing was my family’s outdoor endeavor. My FIL was big into pheasant hunting and during the 1950s our surrounding area was pheasant heaven. His favorite story was the 5 for 5 on pheasants. Deer hunting is also very big on both sides of my wife’s family. The first time I was invited I had no gun and the only coat I had was a black pea-coat with matching black and white striped scarf. Not the best color scheme for deer hunting being white was a deer color and black was bear, you could hunt bear during deer season at the time. They let me go out anyway with a bead sight shotgun and 2 slugs. I found a spot next to a two track and sat down only to be startled a couple of hours later by a deer that I promptly missed. So started my love affair with hunting.

  Jack not only lent me guns but helped be buy guns for myself once I had the finances to do so. He also made sure whom ever wanted to hunt had a place to stay and somewhere to hunt. Making many memories in the process. Like my second time in deer camp he let me use a newly acquired 8mm rifle. This was quite a step up from the shotgun, in both aesthetics and kick, and I got a deer with it. I now had an attachment to the gun being my first deer and all but he ended up horse trading it away that night with the neighbor so back to square one I went. On the way home I asked for his daughters hand in marriage but due to a problem with communication a lot of swearing and gnashing of teeth ensued. Remembering all the stashed handguns Jack had I quickly straightened out the problem and was given his blessing. The enabler and memory maker will be missed dearly.

Now to the best of 2014. Not to mince words here’s some pics.

10.5 pound walleye

Strutting tom with 9+ inch beard and 1 inch spurs. (With video)

Opening day pheasant

Muzzleloader deer

First buck in 20 years.

Get Outdoors Downriver.