Blind Blunders
Hunting blinds and I have a troubled and ongoing history together. I just wish I knew what their love language was. They clearly work and work well for other people, and they seem to be my only option for archery hunting, based on my size 14 feet.
My first attempt at using a blind was when my brother and I borrowed a pop-up blind from our dad for a hunting trip. We met our friend camped out on some public land and set up the blind early in the morning, in what seemed like a good spot. We then scouted around a bit to stretch our legs. The next morning, we came back to find someone had relieved us of our blind. We saw neither the bandits nor deer that trip. That was nearly ten years ago. This last season I filled my whitetail tag via still hunting because my blind, days after being set up, was relocated by the wind down a hill, across a fence, and into a swamp. My brother found it while I was at work and packed it away for me. It appears this spring I will be doing some repairs on it in hopes of using it again, but in a more wind sheltered area this time.
My most comical blunders actually took place in the same blind during the same fall season. During the October bow season, just north of Athabasca, I had a blind set beside some bales in a field that the deer were grazing in each evening. A well-fed doe wandered up to the stake I had driven into the ground 20 yards from my blind and offered me a broadside shot. I silently came to full draw, took a breath, steadied my aim, and set the pin on her vitals. Then, as I released, I heard a peculiar “thunk” and watched my illuminated knock slide just under her, I could swear I heard the fletching brush her hide. After a moment of stunned confusion, I noticed I had sent my arrow through the window covers that were bunched up as a result of having the window open. In rifles, this mistake is called “failing to account for height over bore” perhaps in archery, it’s called “height over shaft”?
Later during November rifle season, in that same blind, from that same spot, I went back with a rifle. A little button buck I mistook for a small doe walked out and offered me a shot as the light was fading. Me, not realizing one of the advantages of a blind is that you can use a rest, sent an offhand shot. I learned quickly that shoot-through mesh only applies to arrows, this was evident by the shredded, smoldering, mesh in front of me. I could have tossed a cat through the hole I had made. I also realized that a 270 Winchester sure is loud in a blind. As my ears rang, I noticed the deer getting back up, clearly injured, and needing a second shot. With no time to put in earplugs, I sent a second round further damaging the mesh and increasing the ringing in my ears. Days 3 and 4 of my recovery were so quiet, it was a nice reprieve from days 1 and 2 where all I could hear was that darn ringing. My dad once told me he witnessed someone, in a living room, shoot a monkey with a 12 gauge and his ears rang for a week. There’s a lot to think about in that sentence, the 70’s must have been a wild time. My take-away is that I can sympathise with the headache induced by discharging a firearm in a confined space. In my case, it happened twice and was my own fault. In the end I had put my ears through all that for barely enough meat to fill the little freezer attached to the undersized fridge in my little apartment.
Now, I don’t begrudge those who manufacture, sell, use, or even encourage the use of blinds. I just fear they aren’t for me. When I hunt, I prefer to walk, take in nature, look for treasure. I found a nice mule deer shed 2 years ago while still hunting, can’t say I’ve ever found anything interesting inside a blind… well except that one time I got so bored in a blind I befriended a field mouse, he wasn’t much for conversation, but he sure loved cookies. I wonder what Ol’ Hank is up to these days…
I also think that few, if any, pop-up blinds available are able to withstand the experience that is the prairie climate, something so unpredictable and volatile that musicians such Ian Tyson and Corb Lund have written songs about it. I’ve had blinds blow away in gale-force winds, others have been so frozen to the ground my options were to take home the top half or leave it whole until spring thaw. The risk of leaving it until spring is that heavy snowfall can collapse it, or a lack of snow on top will result in enough UV damage that you can poke a skylight in the ceiling with a finger… maybe I could use it for geese then? It appears my options are to walk or get a tree stand. Based on my luck with blinds, I fear what may become of any dalliance I make into tree stand usage.
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A Cutthroat Hike
This is a story I had published in Hooked Magazine (Volume 14 Issue 1 of 2021). My original was about three times the length and they asked me to trim it down so it would fit in the magazine, I think they were correct in asking me to do that
“As I stripped line in, I saw a flash and cut through the water, I yelled to Erin ‘wait, I think I may have actually caught something here.’
Abraham Lakes
Amidst the chaos of Covid lockdowns, my wife and I decided, last minute, that we needed a break. Travel bans had caused our local national parks, Jasper and Banff, to fill. We opted instead to make use of some crown land and alpine lakes near Abraham Lake just southwest of Edmonton. This area, colloquially referred to as Abraham Lakes, was also quite busy but we figured the further we hiked in, the less crowded it would get.
Landslide Lake
We did our best to get organized and after a few pitstops my wife, my dog, and myself were at the trail head at 730pm. Luckily, we were on vacation and weren’t beholden to a clock. We hiked in until about 930, set up camp, and had dinner beside a small fire. In the morning we would hike the rest of the way to our destination, Landslide Lake.
On the second day, the trail was mostly treed with a few steep inclines, some bridges, and a few great vantage points with mountain views. Just before the lake, the trail skirted a huge boulder field, likely the lake’s namesake. The lake itself was a real beauty, larger than I expected. We set up camp, Erin relaxed with Jasper, our dog, and I assembled my fly rod. I was really dragging my heels for fear of failure. It had been years since I last fly-fished. I was in that terrible mindset of “If I don’t try, I can’t fail.” I think Erin could tell and spurred me along. I headed for a bay we spotted on the way in, it had a nice boulder sticking out that looked like a good place to fish from.
The Fishing
Unsure of what to use, I opted to try a dry fly that imitates a mosquito. I got up on my rock and surveyed. It appeared it was the right time and place, the fish were rising. I made a few shaky false casts and my line piled up in front of me, it was ugly. A few more casting attempts later and things were looking a little closer to a proper cast. Finally, I managed a proper presentation. I watched a small blue-green fish approach and inspect before biting and diving, I pulled up and set the hook. I kept the tension and brought the small fish in, I pulled the line up out of the water, the fish wiggled and wriggled… and was gone… with my hook. I guess my knot tying wasn’t up to snuff. Luckily my fly box, much like my fishing spot, was well stocked with mosquitos. I tied a fresh one on and went back to it. I quickly landed three more small cutthroat trout, my first ever.
Eventually one of my wild back-casts caught a small shrub behind me. I went and started untangling my hook from the branches. A minute into it, I broke out laughing as I realized I was untangling a Parachute Adams some other fisherman left behind. I got it, some line, and my own hook out of the tree, and resumed. We took a break to have dinner. Afterward, I went back alone but didn’t have any luck.
Lake of the Falls
Day 3 we headed to Lake of the Falls. The hike down from Landslide Lake wasn’t too bad, but the hike up to Lake of the Falls was an absolute slog. After what felt like a week of uphill, we were rewarded with a nice flat walk along an oxbow stream. As we got up to the lake itself, we passed a little bay, this one was shallow and clear, we could actually see fish in it, suspend motionless, with the occasional gentle rise and grab of a bug. We found a campsite along the shore that looked like a good fishing spot and staked our claim.
Personal Best
I assembled my fly rod and Erin went for a glacial swim, the water was so cold I could barely dip my feet in. I had other priorities anyway. No fish were rising, but I recalled one of my first fly fishing experiences an old man told me the bigger fish tend to eat bigger bugs sinking down. I tied on a woolly bugger and hoped. I cast a bit and had a few bites, but no fish wanted to commit. I asked Erin if she wanted to try, she had never fly fished before but she’s a quick learner. Within minutes she landed the first fish of the day. With a satisfied smile, she handed me the rod and said “try to catch up.” It didn’t take long, I managed to land a nice little trout or two. Then while fishing a drop-off, I connected again, this time with something bigger. As I stripped line in, I saw a flash and cut through the water, I yelled to Erin “wait, I think I may have actually caught something here.” A minute of angling later, I had landed a very respectable cutthroat, the largest trout I had ever caught. Keep in mind I’m pretty inexperienced. We got a few pictures and released it. Tragically, around dinnertime, my woolly bugger managed to get snagged on something underwater and broke off… I was tempted to go in after it, it was the only one I had packed. I opted instead to replace it with a bloodworm. I cast the line out a few times but only connected on one more fish.
Bull Trout
The next morning, while Erin made her coffee, I snuck ahead and wiggled my way through the trees, rod in hand, to the little bay we had seen the day before. My bloodworm and I, gave it the old college try. A few casts and fewer nibbles later, I had one on the line, a real scrapper. It appeared to be a brook trout, a personal best one too. I snapped a photo and sent it on its way. I didn’t bring my net so I was grabbing with wet hands and getting them back into the water as fast as possible. Unfortunately, in my haste, I made a mistake, it was actually a rare bull trout. Something Reddit pointed out to me. Had I the presence of mind, or the time, I could have easily checked the dorsal fin (a lack of black dots on its dorsal fin is an indication that it’s a bull trout).
Pack Out
Shortly after my catch, Erin arrived and we headed out, we had a long hike ahead of us. It turned out that that terrible uphill slog, although worth it for the fishing, is quite dangerous to go down with a dog tied to your pack. Jasper is a runner, so we keep him leashed. While descending a steep hill, he sometimes pulls, causing me to slide, which scares him, causing him to pull harder. Overall, though, he did very well. At the end of the hike, all three of us were hot, tired, and thirsty. Erin opted to cool off in Abraham Lake. I only got my feet wet, but I dipped Jasper in against his will. We stopped in Rocky Mountain House for pizza and Jasper slept like a log the entire drive home. The next day at work my feet hurt, but I was too busy showing off my fishing pictures to even think about that.
Posted in Fishing, Hiking, Published Workwith 2 comments.