Along the Timberline: Rain, rain go away! No, really...I'm tired of gettin' wet.

Since we've moved to the northwest back in '05 (or sometime right around there), I don't remember a wetter winter/spring/summer than this one we are stuck in. Typically, you won't hear me complain too much about the moisture since a native Oregonian once told me I am not allowed to complain due to the simple fact that I'm a transplant straight from the sonora desert and I knew Oregon was wet before I even got here. Besides it is the rain which paints such beauty around here, right? But, all the down-pour has really hindered my fishing schedule this year. (okay, I'm complaining a bit) In fact, I'd be fishing for springer salmon right now as I type this if it weren't for the damn rain.

Recently, I caught my first Umpqua springer. Lord knows it wasn't my first day tryin'. They say an Umpqua spring chinook is the best tasting fish on this planet, me and all 10,000 of my taste buds would agree. There is not a better tasting fish, especially fresh. Hooking one fish was all it took for Jim G., my fishing buddy, and I to catch the salmon bug. But then it started raining. And the river rose 5+ feet and the fish ripped upriver, driven by a million years of instinct to reproduce a hundred miles on up the river...and not to mention, they seemed to have a serious case of lock-jaw; they wouldn't open their mouths to bite nothin'. Well, the river receded a bit and we've returned and caught more...Hunter even caught his first river salmon., lucky bugger!

I kinda feel like I never lost the huntin' bug this winter and now that spring is here and I'm putting hunting tag applications in various states I have a real bad case of hunting fever and can't wait to see which tags I draw this year.

On the few dry days I've had the chance to get out and stretch my legs and run around the hills a bit, whether it was for work, semi-work, or play.....or semi-work/play. Anyways, my point is I've enjoyed taking the kids out with me some in between their basketball, track, school life. We've got to shoot our bows, Roo made her first kill while her little sister was beside her for moral support. Although it was just a rock squirrel that was getting into a neighbors farming equipment, it might as well have been a once-in-a-lifetime stone sheep hunt in B.C.. It was quite exciting, especially for the ol' pops who was busy yelling instruction into poor Roo's ears while she carefully tried her best to aim at the high-strung, buck-toothed target.

Turkey season was short this year. The hunters were too effecient and they both shot their turkeys early in the season, and I mean before noon opening day early. Talk about just a little bit A-N-T-I-C-L-I-M-A-T-I-C.

Hunter showed me that he is quickly catching on to the fine details of what seperates succesfful hunters from the unsuccessful hunters. As we started hunting, we quickly crossed paths with a flock of hens and gobblers and after setting up a hen decoy, we got in position ready for anything. Within a few minutes, I saw Hunter's eyes light up as he was able to first spot the red and blue heads of incoming turkeys. They were 4 teenage jakes, interested in the aggressive hen clucking from my slate call. I wondered if he would shoot since he told me just minutes before that he was only going for an ol' long-beard.

The jakes fanned, boomed, strutted, and gobbled before Hunter chose the largest of the four and squeezed the trigger from my 12 gauge. The jake laid motionless as the others ecaped in full throttle. "It's a hell of a thing; killin' something. You take away everything it ever had and ever would have", a Clint Eastwood quote that I've used to explain responsibility while hunting.

Next, it was Emily's turn. Emily hasn't ever killed a turkey although she's had a few chances. This was her

day to kill one and she took full advantage. Hunter was sweet enough to stay with Laynee in the truck, while Roo, Emily, and I tip-toed down an old two-track along with henrietta, the hen decoy. Before I could set the decoy in the soil, a gobble rung out from the oaks below. We scrambled into position and after a few series on the old slateboard, four longbeards came a checkin' things out. Emily showed great patience as the gobblers carefully approached eyeballing the decoy. Once they were within shooting range, Emily's shot was true and just like that we had two turkeys on the ground!

Roo watched the whole episode by my side. She is quickly preparing for her first turkey hunt.

In order: Judas, Hunter, Laynee wielding the 12 gauge, the ugly turkey caller, Emily, Roo, Henrietta

Shed-antler season came and went quickly this year. Although I'm sure there are still millions of pounds of antlers out there in the woods just waiting to be scooped up, there are many other things to do right now and with the cost of fuel and limited time, it has been easier to put antler hunting on the back-burner for now. My goal for the year was to find one fresh 6-point +Roosevelt antler and one 4-point+ good blacktail antler; I did achieve my goal and then some...

blacktail Oakland

Feeling stumped not finding a shed...but 3 bears!!!

Other recent outings include heading to Utah to look for petrified dinosaur shit, fishing for trout in the high ponderosa mountains of Oregon, successful bear hunts with buddies, bluegill fishin' in a local pond, and some work projects that I'm still surprised I get paid to do; each outing certainly worthy of their own blog post.