Winter’s Here

It looks like winter is finally here. Temps below zero and almost a foot of snow on the ground makes it feel much more normal after an extremely warm fall.  I really wanted to write a blog about how the deer herd has bounced back and report on the awesome moose hunting stories.  Needless to say there is not much to report.  The number of mature bucks has to be at a 20 year low.  Yes there are a couple of deer and yes I’m sure there is a pocket or two that might have a decent buck in it but from what I have seen this fall, it’s depressing.  I have not heard of any 150 class or better bucks killed in a 60 mile radius of PCC.  I did spend hours scouting new areas this year but the results have me hunting several hours west and south of here next season.  If you were to ask why the deer numbers are so low I would pause and say “I’m not sure”.  2014 and 2015 were not too hard on the deer so this year looked to be promising.  Predation is my best guest, we have seen an upward tick on our bear population this year and our wolves are finding enough food to stay healthy.  Wolf  packs seem to be growing in numbers making their hunting success an issue for other big game animals.

Moose hunting in WMU 5 seemed to be a bit slow.  Weather and time of year always will play a part.  We did not see many hunters in our area at all this year.  WMU 3 and WMU 4 seemed to have much more traffic and some hunters really had good hunts.  Several nice bulls were taken, many in that 50 inch range.

Up until a week or so ago  one could still get out on the water and wet a line.  Musky fishing ended up average.  Personally we would boat zero to three fish in an outing.  I did hear of some better reports later in November.  Crappie fishing was very good most of the fall, finding them took some time but when you found them you had a blast.  We have never seen so many people fishing so late in the season, it was very nice fall.

A buddy of mine with a nice bull he got yesterday.

 

 

 

April

The melt is on and NW Ontario is waking up from another quiet winter. Ducks are back and extremely active.  Our duck boxes are hosting Golden Eye, Hooded Mergansers , and a pair of wood ducks are back. Betty got to witness our food chain a few days ago as an otter took down a duck not too far from the dock on Pickerel Creek.  There has been so much duck activity even eagles are trying to get in on the action and are trying to snag a duck dinner.  Sand Hill Cranes have started their flight back north, a great sign that a new season is about to start.  Deer and moose would have had a fairly easy winter, sighting of both animals have been prevalent as of late.

Over an inch of rain last week and some decent run off have water levels high across the region.  Pickerel Creek itself has morning temperatures right at 40 degrees but warming up to the high 40’s by the afternoon.  Creeks have been open for over a month now and with warm water flowing into our area lakes northern pike have begun there spawn.  We still have ice on our lakes but it is starting to go pretty quick over the last few days.  We did get good trout reports from north of Ear Falls last week but ice conditions around here are no longer safe.

Planning Ahead

We hope you all made it through the holidays safe and healthy.  Many of you are now planning for your spring and summer fishing trips and if Canada is your destination here are a couple of things  to think about.  Passport books or cards have been needed for a while now, its not a bad idea to check and see if they are current.  For the grandparents who are bringing there grandchildren, a note from there parents is sometimes asked for at the border crossing, having too much information is is better than having none.

There is still a restriction on bringing raw poultry including eggs into Canada.  You can follow updates at http://www.inspection.gc.ca. /travelers.  If you try to bring poultry you need to prove not only where it was bought but where the meat originated.  The states that are prohibited at the present time are Indiana, Missouri, and North Dakota.

Mixed reports on area fishing.  I have heard good and poor reports across the region but the amount of fishing that has been done so far seems to be much lower compared to recent years.  Weather and poor ice conditions have limited fishing to start the year.  Ice conditions are fair right now averaging 10 to 18 inches with slush on some lakes.  We could really use some snow, there is only about a foot on the ground.

The mild winter will definitely help our moose and deer herds at least it won’t hurt.  This is two mild winters in a row.  PCC has been planning on starting up our deer hunt again in the fall of 2017.  We will just have to wait and seen how many mature bucks are around.

Our May and June Dates are booked but there are some July and September dates available.  Shoot us an email or give us a call to talk about open dates and adventure opportunities.  We are still booking 2016 and 2017 wolf, bear, and moose hunts.

 

 

COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With cold weather pretty much throughout North America the only thing going on is visions of springtime fishing.  The weather even makes ice fishing reports non-existence.  The cold weather and high winds have kept most fisherman at home by the wood stove.  We have heard a few good reports of walleye catches but not to many trout reports.  Ice and slush conditions vary from lake to lake.  We have an abundance of snow this year so even getting around is a challenge.  Hopefully temperatures will start to warm and we can get some nice pics of cold water walleye on the blog.  The amount of snow unfortunately will decimate our deer heard and with early reports of a poor moose count we are lobbying Mother Nature for an early spring.  After such a great year of fishing in 2013 , a poor year in 2012, it will be quite interesting to see how 2014 will unfold.  

We would like to thank all of you who follow our blog, we just went over 41,000 views.

PCC has just a couple spots open in May and June at our main camp and has one prime week open at the outpost.  Walleye opener is always the 3rd Saturday in May,  (May 17th).  Musky season opens the 3rd Saturday in June.  Bring your 1/32 oz. gear and try for some crappie this year.  Our area has had an explosion of crappie in the last few years and now many lakes have a fishable population.

Betty and I are looking forward to get back to work and to see many of you this spring.  Try and stay warm, spring will be here before you know it.

Staying Warm?

 With much of North America in a deep freeze not a whole lot has been going on.  Cold temps and lots of snow has been the story for NW Ontario since the 1st of December.  Ice fishing has been slow from the reports I have been getting.  The MNR will be doing a moose herd count in unit 5 and 8 this winter, The amount of snow so early surely will have a negative affect on our deer herd but the moose should do fine.

Betty and I are looking forward to start our 11th year at PCC.  We do have a few spots open for spring fishing, and are looking for bear hunters for the 2015 season. Our deer hunt will stay on hold until we can get a handle on the wellness of the deer population.

The MNR came out with this press release yesterday.

Eleven people have pleaded guilty to a total of 68 charges and been fined $72,500 for offences that took place at a hunting and fishing lodge in northwest Ontario. Steve Herbeck, former owner and operator of 1216818 Ontario Inc., carrying on business as Andy Myers Lodge, on Eagle Lake, west of Dryden, was fined a total of $7,500 and his business was fined a total of $27,000 for 22 offences. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for ten years.Danny Herbeck and Chris Federman, both lodge employees, were fined $7,000 each for their offences and cannot hunt for the next four and eight years respectively. At the time of the offences, all three men lived in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.Andy Bouchard of Waldhof, Ontario, pleaded guilty to three hunting offences and was fined $4,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year. Scott Munford of Vermilion Bay, Ontario, pleaded guilty to six charges under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and was fined $7,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for two years.Calum Ritchie of Waldhof, Ontario, pleaded guilty to two charges and was fined $2,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.Tammy Pelletier of Waldhof, Ontario, pleaded guilty to two charges and was fined $2,500. She is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.Bouchard, Munford, Ritchie and Pelletier were all lodge employees at the time of the offences.George Lindsay of Wedderburn Ranfurly, New Zealand pleaded guilty to three hunting offences and was fined $3,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.Travis Runde of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty and was fined $1,000 for two firearm offences. He cannot hunt in Ontario for one year.Don Rabideau Jr. of Morrisonville, New York, pleaded guilty to four hunting offences and was fined $3,000. He is not allowed to hunt in Ontario for one year.Lindsay, Runde, and Rabideau Jr. were all lodge guests.Ron Jaeger of Eagle River, Ontario, pleaded guilty to one offence and was fined $500.

The 11 people listed above pleaded guilty to a total of 68 charges under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, Ontario Fishery Regulations and Migratory Birds Convention Act. Their offences included: unlawfully hunting wolf, unlawfully using a hunting licence belonging to another person,  making a false statement in a document,  making a false statement to a conservation officer,  having a loaded firearm in a vehicle,  possessing uncased firearms at night,  discharging a firearm from a roadway,  unlawfully selling game wildlife,  unlawfully selling migratory birds,  fishing with more than one fishing line,  failing to comply with the requirements for an Ontario Hunting and Fishing Licence Issuer, and  possessing an over-limit of Canada geese.

The court heard that Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officers conducted a two-year covert investigation in cooperation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

the departments of Natural Resources for Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Minnesota, and the New Zealand Commission of Wildlife. Conservation officers discovered that Steve Herbeck and his staff encouraged clients to hunt wolves without a licence. Staff then used their own resident licences to validate the wolf or arranged for guests to buy licences afterward. Steve Herbeck allowed guests to fish without a licence and later sold them backdated fishing licences. As part of their package, guests were fed grouse and mallard duck and advised they were fed American elk, all of which the lodge was not allowed to sell. Steve Herbeck also took guests muskellunge fishing and used more than the allowable amount of fishing rods.

Justices of the Peace Daisy Hoppe and Edith Baas heard the cases between January 15 and December 17, 2013, in the Ontario Court of Justice, Dryden.

Having Fun in The Woods

More mature deer have been seen either on trail camera’s or on the move.  Our deer log is starting to add up a few nice deer.  I personally have seen from the stand 5 deer 3 ½ yrs or older.  Yes, down from previous years but trying to be an optimist there are a few decent deer out there.  Many of the 150 class and larger are still doing most of their traveling at night, guess that’s one reason they get so big.  I watched a 135 inch 9ptr yesterday from the stand and almost hit a 150 class 10pt with my truck on the way in.  Temps in the single digits made for a challenging day in the tree.  If you hunt where temps are below freezing the” Heater Body Suit” is a must.  There is no way I could have lasted all day without one.

With the recent cold spell, small creeks and small lakes are now iced over.  Winter is surely creeping in and the count- down for spring time fishing will start very soon.

 

Scott Ellery arrowed this 9 pointer yesterday at 1pm.

 

 

 

 

Mature buck from a buddies trail camera a few days ago.

The Rut is ON!

Just a quick update on our deer movement.  November is Deer Time and we hope those of you in the woods are having a safe and fun hunting season.  Although most deer movement happens at night, November is the time to catch that buck of a lifetime with his guard down during daylight hours.  Deer movement is not bad in our area, but sighting and sign of mature bucks is awful.  We really cannot sugar coat it any other way.  I have hunted 6 full days and one morning and have seen 10 different bucks and one of those was at least 4 ½ years old, really not that bad right?  The sign just is not there and all the reports from our region are the same.  2 out of 3 winters were bad but the length of winter last year took its toll on older bucks.  I’m still having fun and getting to see a good number of bucks, I hope all of you are as well. Get out and enjoy the outdoors, life is short, November is shorter and December is usually Yes Dear Time.

 

A couple of younger bucks that I rattled in the last two days.