Snow Geese, Turkey, and Elk

Two out of three in the next 45 days and that is not bad.  Three quarter of a million snow geese are now at Squaw Creek National Refuge in Missouri.  Our club now has 650 decoys out.  It takes a lot of decoys to get them to come to the blind.  There is 2 feet of snow on the ground just to the north of us in South Dakota, and our snow is gone.  It should warm up this week, and the ice will go off the lakes.  That should keep them around a week or two.  Our club is ready. 

                       

Everyone is talking about all the turkeys they see out in the fields and along the roads.  This should be a banner season for spring harvest.  I have two spots.  One north of Fort Calhoun and the farm down by the Missouri River.  Visiting with the landowner north of Fort Calhoun, he told me he had never seen so many birds.  The winter has not been all that bad, and the survival rate is quite high. 

My plan was to go Elk hunting in 2012, but plans have a way of changing.  Casey Schroeder gave me the name of an outfitter south of Jackson Hole, and recommended I give him a call.  I did.  I liked what I heard, and we had several conversations. With just a couple of days before the deadline, I decided to go to Wyoming and hunt Elk in the fall.  Wyoming has a draw for an Elk license, and I came right down to the last day to get the application into the state.  Lo and behold, I drew, and I made a reservation with Bob Barlow of Barlow Outfitting for opening day to hunt Elk south of the Yellowstone.   (http://www.barlowoutfitting.com/)

Bob is a third generation Wyoming native, and grew up hunting the mountains and prairies of the state.  Besides hunting in the fall, he provides a full range of outdoor activities all year round consisting of fishing expeditions on horseback, float trips, and snowmobile trips into the Yellowstone. 

The area Bob hunts is the Jedidiah Smith wilderness and south of Jackson Hole in the Snake River, Hoback and Gros Ventre Mountain ranges.  The area is famous for its excellent year round resident elk.  The hunts take place close to the base camp near Alpine and Bondurant Wyoming. 

It will soon be time to start training again, and take off the holiday pounds.

Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.   Hank
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