Can't wait to go fishing.....

I was working in the field today near the sheep river when I started to think about the trip Janay and I made to Fernie last year. I am dying to go fishing and camping in the mountains. This particular spot near Elko Prov. Park was absolutely breathtaking and I would love to go back and spend a little more quality time there.

At the base of this breathtaking view was a crystal clear glacier fed lake witch fed into the clear water stream below where I was fishing.

I enjoy fishing in small tributaries like the one you see here. Every pool pretty much guarantees a fish on the first cast. I only cast three times and if I don't catch anything I move on downstream to the next pool. The fish aren't all that big, but they sure fight like the dickens.

The perfect cast........

Ten years ago I was an avid fly fisherman, but became tired of the routine and was quickly converted to the art of angling. I have to admit however that the intensity of the catch and size of the fish aren't nearly as satisfying as fly fishing, but I really enjoy the extra variety of experience that angling offers. I have tried virtually every hook and style that has ever been created. The Panther Martin as seen above with a green spoon is by far the best for any mountain stream and guarantee's a fish on every cast into a new pool.

First cast every time!

He's a fighter.....

Now what are you going to do.......

Notice the Panther Martin dangling from his lips.

Not too bad for this little stream. This cut-throat trout was actually one of the smallest I caught that day. He's lucky we weren't camping or he would have ended up in the skillet.

What are parents teaching their kids these days????

The other day I was talking to Justin who is a good friend of mine about our High school days, when we started on the topic of Potato guns. I had built one with my Dad approximately 7 feet long and could hit a target fairly accurately at a distance of 100 meters. A few days later Justin and his little girl Elizabeth showed up at my door to show off and test out their new potato gun.

Justin and Elizabeth with their new potato gun.

Justin had gone into UFA and purchased some pre-cut sized pieces of black plumbing pipe and a barbecue lighter (ignition) to make his gun. The gas chamber was approximately 3 feet long with a 2 foot barrel.

Barbecue lighters are the most efficient and easy to use ignition sources. Here Justin has drilled 2 screws through the PVC pipe at right and left angles so that they almost meet together inside the ignition chamber. The barbecue lighter is then wired to the screws and tapped to the gun for security

Her is a picture of the two screws inside the ignition chamber. When the barbecue lighter is pushed it creates a spark between the two screws igniting the gas and shooting out the potato.

Gone Camping...

Janay made this replica of me camping in the woods. Apparently I enjoy hacky sacking while living amongst the bears....

I think I look kinda handsome don't you think???

Another Day at Work

Today my colleague and I were out measuring Monitoring Well (MW) water levels. It looks cold doesn't it, well it was (-18 degrees Celsius) to be exact, but it sure beats being in the office. Here we were determining where the water level and product if present is in each of the Monitoring wells (orange pipes).

In this picture I am holding an instrument called an interface probe. This instrument measures the depth of water and/or free product level in a well. On the end of the approx. 500 foot measuring tape is a probe witch beeps when it comes in contact with free product and holds a constant tone when water is encountered. While lowering the tape into the well the field person listens for the beeps or tone and immediately stops when herd. The tape is then held to the top of the PVC pipe inside the orange steel casing and a measurement is recorded.

This picture represents two Monitoring wells .

This is what the PVC pipe looks like from the top of the orange steel casing. Each well is labelled when installed for further monitoring and reference.

One MW water sampling method is conducted by using a baler. My colleague is holding a baler. Each baler is approx. $25.00 and consists of a cylindrical clear plastic tube. At the end of the tube is a plastic ball which allows water to flow in filling the baler when lowered down the well. When the baler is filled and ready to be pulled back up the well, the ball falls to the bottom of the tube by gravity and seals the opening so that the water sample is not lost. One baler per well and never one for two wells.

Occasionally baler's are accidentally dropped down the well. Hmmmmm.... The solution is simple....do you like to fish? No literally!! For all you fishermen out there this is the job for you (work and sport). A red and white Dare Devil spoon attached to some rope is what seems to work the best.... baler's love the classic red and white.

Like I said, you'll catch 'em every time.

Trapping Bobcats

This last Christmas I had the opportunity to accompany my uncle on his trap line for two weeks. I have always wanted to experience the art of having a trap line, and trapping more than just gophers. Bobcats provide the greatest bang for your buck. One bobcat hide, can earn a trapper anywhere from $100-$750 dollars depending on how white the belly is and the number of spots. Some states in the US have limits per tag like Utah (6 tags /person), but Idaho is unlimited. Clyde has been retired for many years now and has been trapping bobcats on the side near his home in Richfield, Utah. I learned a lot from him over those few days, and look forward to the time when I can return and either accompany him or trap my own.

Some of the skinned and dried bobcat hides ready for sale.

This is one stop along his trap line witch extends over many miles. Clyde's quad is the yellow one in the front. We stopped to the side of the road and then hiked up the side of the hill to a rock outcrop. Clyde has 100 Bridger 4 spring traps spread out across the country side. Each trap set has two traps in it. This particular spot had 4 trap sets.

After checking the sets and re-baiting we headed down to the quads. Katelan "aka" Bushwoman is in the front followed by Clyde and then myself. The yellow bucket carried by Clyde contains a 22 Revolver, screen for sifting soil, scent and bobcat urine etc.

We let this bobcat go in order to catch a bigger tom, but he would have been about a $250.00 dollar cat. His hind foot is caught in the trap.

Taking the initiative to cross rivers in order to set traps has sure paid off for Clyde as some of his biggest toms have been caught in these sets. I enjoyed the challenge of wading the river while trying to avoid the large ice chunks floating by.

Some of the slopes were quite steep once the river was crossed and that is where a ski pole and rope strategically attached to some sage brush came in quite handy.




This tom according to Clyde would earn about $450.00 dollars. Despite how small he looks, he was quite heavy and if I remember was approx. 42 inches long.



Here Clyde is re-setting the traps and preparing the spot to catch another tom. Almost all of his sets are at the base of a rock edge.



The traps are being re-set and will then be buried in the top right side of the photo.


Here Clyde is strategically placing the traps in the soil and covering the pans with a piece of screen to prevent soil from sluffing in under the pan which will prevent it from going off when stepped on by the bobcat.


He then uses a sifting box to separate the larger stones and sticks from the fine soil witch is most preferred to cover the traps. This technique also keeps your fingers away from the traps.

Here the traps are covered, and chained to a piece of juniper about 5 feet long. This juniper stick acts as a snag and prevents the bobcats when caught from getting to far. The small glass bottle to the left contains a mixture of skunk scent and ground-up bobcat intestines and scent glands. To apply Clyde puts a stick into the bottle and then puts the scent covered stick onto a bone on the other side of the set.


Here is what most of the trap sets look like. Clyde uses barrels because they keep the ground where the trap sits dry, preventing the traps from freezing. If the barrel is tipped over he has most likely caught a cat.

Skinning the bobcat.

Homemade bobcat scent. On the left is the finished product. On the right is bobcat intestines and scent glands. When he has collected enough it is ground-up, skunk scent and preservative are added and you are ready to go.

Every Hunters Dream Game Room

While I was trapping Bobcats near Richfield Utah my uncle took me to one of his friends homes to see the most unbelievable and most tastefully displayed game room I have ever seen. Lee is a retired Guide who has hunted in many parts of the world including Africa. All the animals you are about to see he and his family have hunted and caught. Lee has also completed all the mounts himself.