Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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"We now return you to your regularly scheduled program!" Whether it was Bozo the Clown before school or Saturday morning cartoons, when interrupted by a breaking news story or weather alert, those nine words were a relief during my childhood that no matter what was happening in the world or on the landscape, things would quickly be returning to normal, and I could get back to the day's routine. For me the firearms deer season is always like that TV interruption of old. It's not a bad break from...
I’ve often wondered if I could give up hunting and just fish, or give up fishing and just hunt. I’m most often struck with that thought as I sit peacefully in my deer stand up from a small lake, and listen to the last anglers of the season drop their boats off the launch at first light for the aggressive autumn trout that occupy the chilly waters. Ever a victim of FOMO, or the fear of missing out, I find myself caught in the internal debate of which is better, which would I do if I had to choose...
While referred to in some crowds as "desperation weekend," the final three-day stretch of the North Dakota firearms deer season can often be the very best as changing environmental conditions, increased rut activity and decreased pressure on the landscape can align to provide some excellent hunting. Don't give up hope or fall into that dejected mindset just yet, as some ideal conditions are setting up for the season finale. Full Moon, Fine Forecast With the November full moon falling on Fri....
There is nothing more surprising on an upland game hunt than to wander into a draw or to the edge of a stretch of grass and watch a covey of grouse or a group of pheasants rise en masse, wings whirring over their warning calls issued in the moment of excitement. Likewise, there are few results more disappointing in the outdoors than to expend two or three shots after an adrenaline-fueled shouldering of a scattergun and come away empty handed from such an amazing opportunity. The phenomenon of...
The sound of a grunting buck can send a shiver of anticipation up any hunter's spine. What was a calm sit in a tree stand can quickly become an adrenaline rush of epic proportions. Whether it's a low tending vocalization to a nearby doe, or something more aggressive toward another buck (whether seen or unseen) in the area, that tell-tale "urp!" coming from a wooded bottom or a cruising bruiser is one of the autumn's best sounds. Learning to imitate it and taking knowledge from the successes and...
When it comes to the outdoors, I'm not a huge traveler. I find contentment and more importantly, excitement, close to home with the opportunities I have nearby. Whether that's plying the breaklines for walleyes, casting to rising trout on a stocked lake, or working public parcels with my dog for pheasants, much of the joy I experience in fishing and hunting comes within an hour of my home. However, that home and thousands of others up and down the streets around me, likely harbor sportsmen who...
For an uplander, there’s nothing more reassuring than a trusted shotgun. For me, it remains a super light 20-gauge that shoulders easily, swings smoothly, and more often than not, connects with my target. The familiar crook between trigger guard and checkered wood grip, where my hand tenses up as a bird rises, and the smooth section which cradles my cheek to the stock on the mount, feels as natural as my face hitting the pillow after a long day. Familiarity with a firearm coming from time on t...
The Bismarck State College (BSC) Mystics Clay Dusters trapshooting squad put on a dominant performance at the Minnesota Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) 2021 Clay Target Championship on Oct. 19 in Alexandria, Minn., with sophomore Ayden Kautzman posting a perfect 100 to lead the team to its first championship and earn him the men's and overall high gun awards for the event. Kautzman's 100 was followed by teammate Bryer Erickson's total of 99 which tied him for second place on the day along...
I’ve come to despise plastic. I guess not all plastic, just the plastic that gets in the way of enjoying the outdoors and the aesthetics of being in places where plastic shouldn’t be. Like all things in this life, it’s a harsh duality and a battle of rationalization along a fine line at times. That’s because plastic is so versatile, arguably the foundation of our current society, and probably a big part of a successful trip in the outdoors as well, whether fishing, hunting, hiking or camping...
When it comes to hunting, where you find habitat, you find your quarry. While fields of corn and soybeans will draw pheasants, deer and waterfowl to their edges to feed, the other 95 percent of their lives are spent loafing, staying warm, remaining hidden and raising their young in places kept away from prying eyes under the cover of thick vegetation and tangled reeds and branches. Sloughs, tree claims, creek hollows, river bottoms and other such stretches of habitat, including those that were...
Autumn is often a brief part of the circle of seasons in the upper Midwest, but for those that piggyback their ice fishing or angling success on the hunting adventures that come with it, it may be the most important portion of the year. The wide and varied game bag afforded hunters in the region – including pheasants, ducks, partridge, even turkeys – provides a stash of materials for those who create jigs, tie flies and craft tackle of all kinds. Selecting the perfect pelt from any of those bird...
They say summer moves fast, and it’s true, but by far, fall goes by the quickest of all the seasons; especially for those of us of a hunting mindset, and specifically in this particular autumn we’re experiencing. It always feels as if the next three months will be subject to the wills of the weather and the winds of change, as autumn so often is hemmed in by the first strong snowfall. However, this fall, summer has spilled into the front half, making morning outings in the field with my lab sho...
Sportsmen are rarely dissuaded by the weather, unless it's life-threateningly cold, or hot to the point of taxing the well-being of a field dog, adventures in the uplands continue through all sorts of conditions. Wind, snow and even rain impact how pheasants relate to their habitat and where they seek shelter, and how these birds respond to damp environments can give hunters clues that lead to better success, when the heavens open up and rains highlight a scheduled day afield. What follows are t...
The recent mornings have brought a taste of the cool autumn air, mixed with the above-average summerlike afternoon temperatures that the region has been experiencing at the start of the season. In those chilly stretches around dawn, whether walking around the block with the dogs or running along the edge of town, I can sense the approaching pheasant season and the onset of October, despite the mercury later in the day getting into the 70s, 80s and even 90s. Thus, making for sweaty evening bow...
Along with all the hunting seasons that come with it, fall also provides a chance to stalk a couple types of massive beasts long ago introduced to the great plains. But they don't possess paws with which to corral their prey, or hooves with which to make a quick escape, rather these creatures are two unique types of fish which provide an autumn opportunity that to many borders on obsession. Pure strain muskellunge, first stocked from waters to the east and north decades ago, and their...
This Saturday was the second of two back-to-back weekend road races which capped off the most amazing summer of running for me. It was blissfully cool in the morning ahead of the two-day warm-up which, once again in this summer's style, timed out perfectly for an enjoyable weekend. With the major milestones of dove, deer archery and grouse opener behind me, the off weekend allowed for a chance to close out what has been an excellent summer for many things, including time on the trail. I can't...
In what has been an historically hot summer across much of the country, and certainly the upper Midwest, it's easy to assume those temperatures will stick around into fall. As the old saying goes, when in a drought, don't predict rain. But even in those average years over the past few decades, September and October have not been without their surges into the upper 80- and low 90-degree range, making many afternoons more suitable for backyard football games in shorts and t-shirts, following a...
Pheasants Forever's (PF) Soil Health and Habitat program, an initiative created with corporate support from Purina Inc., is helping to establish more grassland habitat and better soil and water quality throughout the nation's Prairie Pothole region in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. Now entering its third sign-up, the partnership is helping farmers and operators fund the establishment of prairie plantings, use of cover crops, and other effective means of expanding areas for...
Opening day of North Dakota’s bow season sits in that stretch of time where summer and fall mix together. Cool dewy mornings of Labor Day weekend melt into warm afternoons, and despite the fact that deer are in their warm-weather patterns, and most often present themselves with a reserve limited to those habits from previous months, the start of the season remains a big draw for me. Heading out into the dark countryside, where the glow of town’s lights is muted by a rise in the hills, and the...
September brings with it the initial upland seasons of the year, and sharptailed grouse have often been that first flush that has sent my heart soaring each fall after its beat echoed steadily in my ears as my dog held point. While these buff and gray birds with the trademark chuckle that can be heard over their whirring wings are creatures of the open prairie and rolling grasses, there are certain spots that seem to hold them better than others. What follows are some subtle structural elements...
The things you own end up owning you. It's a statement I say every so often in life, as mechanical things break down, technology freezes up, and the piles of day-to-day stuff mount in the corner of the basement storage area. I uttered it at least once this weekend as a summer's worth of clutter, which accumulated between the end of school, road trips, holidays and other adventures, was purged from our house and garage, or boxed and stashed to be dealt with more permanently somewhere down the...
Imagine the largest deer you could ever shoot was one that only made it to two-and-a-half years of age. At best, that's a buck with a small four-by-four rack, or a doe that likely was only able to produce one or two years of fawns to help sustain the local herd. For some places in North America, where its prevalence has escalated to more than fifty percent of sampled deer populations, chronic wasting disease (CWD) is starting to suggest those unlikely situations may become a reality. With its de...
While often the coldest and snowiest portion of North Dakota, the northeastern quarter, like the rest of the state, was spared the usually chilly temperatures and drifts it normally sees during the winter of 2020-2021, and as a result, the herds of whitetails in the region survived well. With that, and a more limited impact of the statewide drought until recently, North Dakota Game and Fish (NDG&F) Big Game Biologist Bill Jensen anticipates that this fall's archery and firearms deer seasons...
"Now, you get to do the strap up on top of it," I said with a laugh, as on my tip toes I cranked hard on the ratchet which secured the stabilizing pole of my buddy's new deer stand to his chosen tree, putting a pair of red lines into my palm, which suggested the brace was secure. It was his first experience with the process of dragging the awkward combination of seat and ladder in the brushy bottom, and probably my twentieth in the last decade, as from season-to-season a case of...
So many big dates are on the horizon this time of year, as we make the turn from summer into fall. The start of the school year, football kickoff; and of course, opening days across a wide variety of hunting seasons, are among the big dates to consider. There are so many now that it makes it tough not to have the ink bleed through from one calendar page to the other, from all the red Sharpie circles on the pages into November. For those looking to get the next generation into the outdoors,...
