March 30 

Trout fishing preview

Spring Caddis Hatch SE Minnesota

by Joyce Kolbet, SSND

News was out! There were daily insect hatches on one of our favorite trout streams in the Driftless Area of SE Minnesota. I called my nephew, Kyle, who lives and works in Rochester to see if he had time to head down to the stream with me. “Sure! Meet me at my house and we’ll drive down together.”

It was about 11 AM when Kyle and I arrived at our spot. A couple other vehicles came at about the same time. In the pool nearest the road we noticed the trout already setting up or “staging” for their feeding lanes in the stream, i.e. larger trout chasing away the smaller ones so they would be in the best positions to feed.

Hurriedly Kyle and I assembled our fly rods, put on our chest waders, boots and fly vests in order to claim our favorite spot on the stream. More anglers were arriving now, also vying for their casting positions on the stream. Guess you could say we were “staging” too! The annual caddis fly hatch was about to begin.

Off we walked to a favorite pool about ½ mile upstream where we knew there were lots of large brown trout. We were the first ones to arrive, so we set ourselves up at the foot of the pool so no one else could infringe on our spot.

As always, the challenge of trout fishing is to match the hatch, i.e. find the appropriate fly that will match what is hatching on the water, which, on this particular day was a size 18 gray caddis.

Gradually as the insects starting rising to the surface, so did the trout, and the hatch was on! Kyle and I stood in water up to our waist, casting to unsuspecting fish that were so focused on these caddis flies they barely noticed our presence in their pool.

One cast after another yielded a catch of brown trout…anywhere from 9-16 inches…trout after trout. Kyle caught the first fish and started counting. He proudly caught the second one too. Then it was my turn. After that, we alternated for the most part, catching and carefully releasing each fish, thanking each of these beautiful creatures for giving us such joy.

About an hour and a half later there was a second hatch – this time of blue-winged olive mayflies, also size 18. So, we changed flies and once again were into the trout.  

As the insects emerge from the water, they immediately look for a place to land. At one point Kyle looked at me and exclaimed, “Joyce, you’re covered with bugs!” And I was, but so was he! They were on our clothes, crawling across our polarized sunglasses and clinging to the grass and rocks along the riverbank. It was a sight to behold!

After about 70 trout, we stopped counting and just enjoyed catching and releasing fish. From every direction, upstream or downstream, heads of trout were breaking the surface to capture these minuscule insects. It was truly an amazing sight!

 

Kyle and I cast and caught fish until our arms ached. It was a day like no other I had ever experienced on the water. Some anglers say you’re lucky to get one day like that in a lifetime!

We were among the last to leave the stream that day. As we walked back to the car and packed up to leave, I recalled a scene from the movie, A River Runs Through It. The father (who was a minister) and his two sons are displaying all their trout on the grass. With pride, the father says, “God was very good to us today.” Then he took the biggest catch of the day from his creel and added, “And God was particularly good to me!!”

 
 

March 23

SE Minnesota Shed Antler Hunting

The snow had finally melted enough that I was hopeful I’d find some sheds.  Within minutes after texting my nephew that I was out shed hunting, I found a carcass of an 8-point buck as I was crisscrossing some deer trails and bedding area in a CRP field. It appeared he had been dinner for a pack of hungry coyotes.

Because of all the snow pack this past winter, the grasses from the previous year were matted down. My next “finds” were a couple sheds from last spring with just the tines sticking up through matted grass.

Following a ridge overlooking a southern slope I also found a new shed from a little “forky” and a second shed close to that same area, but not a match. It was from a 3-pointer and had already been chewed on by the rodents.

Finally while moving around near some small islands of trees, I found a beautiful matched set from a two year old 8-pointer - one shed touching the other. 

Before leaving the property NE of Rochester, I had a visit with the land owner who informed me that he had seen two nice bucks still carrying their antlers that morning, March 18, 2017.  So I’m confident there are still some nice sheds to be found.  Good luck!-JK

March 16

Homemade Ozone Scent Eliminator Storage Tote

Ozone use is rapidly gaining popularity in the hunting community as a method for scent control.  A post on Twitter from the handle @thwackem (Midwest Whitetails) discussed how to construct a homemade ozone scent eliminator tote.  I decided to try and make my own tote from a Sterilite container that I was not using. I found an Ozone generator on Amazon that closely resembles the generator used in the commercial ozone scent totes.

The whole project took less than 15 minutes with a total cost of less than $50 (commercial scent totes are priced at roughly $300).  An important step is to drill 4 holes in the side wall near the bottom of the tote to allow the ozone to dissipate after it has moved through the clothing.  Ozone can be damaging to rubber and elastic so I plan to use this initially on the lowest setting for the shortest amount of time until I gain more experience with using ozone.-KK

March 9

Venison Steak Kabobs

One of my favorite ways to prepare venison is to make Venison Steak Kabobs.  This is a very easy and simple recipe that even the pickiest wild game eater will be sure to enjoy.

I start off with two 4-6 oz. venison backstrap steaks.  Cut the steaks into 1"x1" cubes (approximately 8 cubes per kabob)

Tip: I find it easier to cut the steaks into cubes if they are still slightly frozen

Marinate the steak for an hour.  I use a marinade that a friend gave me a while ago which is my favorite marinade for venison (see below), although Italian dressing could work well too.

Venison Marinade:

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary

I then make my kabobs with our favorite vegetables: red onion, zucchini, red and green peppers, and mushrooms.  Cut the vegetables in 1" x 1/2" cubes. I alternate vegetable, steak, vegetable, steak, etc. This helps to keep the meat from getting over cooked and is aesthetically pleasing.

Cook the kabobs on the grill at medium to medium high heat (350-400F), turning once or twice, until the vegetables are cooked roughly 10-15 minutes total cooking time.  Be careful not to over cook the meat 

Tip: Use metal skewers helps to cook the meat internally as kabobs sometimes can burn on the outside and be left rare on the inside, especially on thicker cuts of meat.

Enjoy!

KK  
      

March 2

Review of the Deer Hunter's Moon Guide 

Prior to the start of the 2016 deer season I bought a tool called the Deer Hunter's Moon Guide.  It is a rotating calendar disk that predicts peak hunting times based on the moon’s position—directly overhead or underfoot, for example—as well as the best types of places to hunt under the given conditions.  With a young family at home, I was very interested in a tool that might help me become a more efficient hunter.

The days that predict the best movement are marked red, and the guide really emphasizes hunting the "red" moons.  Simply by coincidence I hunted an equal number of "red" and "black" moons in 2016.  I killed a doe on a black moon and a doe and buck on consecutive red moon days.  I saw slightly more deer on black moon days, but I had significantly more deer in bow range on red moon days.

With a sample size of one, not much can be concluded about how well the Deer Hunter's Moon Guide works.  I didn't plan any of my hunts based on the guide and I will continue to hunt when time allows and on days where the wind conditions are conducive for my stand.  I will probably give the moon guide another opportunity and next year use trail cameras images to gain more data points to see if there is a correlation to deer movement and moon position. 
-KK