More pics from Scott’s fleet of trail cams covering most of eastern Kansas. And of course, to Scott, these are “non shooters”.
Do you think deer have a sense of humor? One buck is licking the tree with the camera on it.
My friend Scott’s trail cam photo of a deer answering the call of nature brings to mind my recent cartoon in the September/October issue of On Wisconsin Outdoors. This poor old doe couldn’t even take a leak in private!
I’m starting to see why hunters from North Carolina, Vermont, Texas and other states come to Kansas and pay ridiculously high fees for a non-resident deer tag, hoping to bag a big whitetail buck.
My Kansas buddy Scott keeps trail cams scattered over an area about the size of Delaware and keeps providing me with interesting photos. Scott is an antler hunter and, according to him, none of these bucks are “shooters”. Me? I was a meat hunter. My trophy was a nice tender120 pound doe. I do have a couple of magnificent racks – which Scott would probably call non-shooters – hanging on my studio wall but both were shot in Missouri.
Anyhow…take a look at these “non shooters”. Scott puts out mineral lick blocks during the year and they do attract deer. They lick the blocks right into the ground, then keep licking where the block used to be. I don’t know the name of the chemical in the block but it should be called “Deer crack”.
You can see the buck in the night photo, his nose down in the hole where the mineral lick used to be, still licking away while a doe and another buck wait in line.
Reminds me of the first day Baskin-Robbins introduces a new flavor.
We’ve lived in Jacksonville over a year now, smack dab in a tangle of rivers, creeks, backwaters – not to mention the Atlantic ocean – and I haven’t gone FISHING yet!
I’ve located two local outfitters, www.blackflyoutfitters.com and www.backwaterfishingadventures.com who take clients fly fishing for redfish, speckled sea trout, just about anything except alligators. I’ve got to sign up with one or both of these guys to get me on the water! Hope they don’t have an age limit.
Here are two popular redfish patterns. I don’t know their names but they look deadly. Help me out here Lefty Ray Chapas. I know you fly fish for reds in Texas. Tell me what flies we’re looking at. Click thumbnails to enlarge.
I love looking at grainy old photos of guys just like us, having a good time hunting and fishing years ago. These snapshots are pictures of my wife’s family and friends; from their clothing I’d guess they were taken in the ‘30s or 40s.
Notice the man and kid showing off two nice stringers of what appear to be bass and bluegill with maybe a crappie or two in the mix. Yes, the “hero shot” has been around for a long long time.
Look at the three dudes all dressed up in their Sunday finest, proudly displaying their gigantic jackrabbits. Did they skip out from work on their lunch break for a quick rabbit hunt? Or maybe ditch the wife and kids after church to go out and blast a few bunnies?
How about the two guys with the big game animals strung from a pole? I can’t tell if they’re does or antelope. And what are all the light-colored things on the ground? My guess would be corncobs.
The gent dangling the two big fish obviously hadn’t learned to hold them closer to the camera so they’d look bigger. I’d guess they’re trout but it’s hard to tell. What do you think?
The grinning dude sitting on the car fender is my father-in-law. Those pointy things to his left appear to be antlers. You know this wasn’t the only photo taken that day. Wouldn’t you love to see the rest!
The two guys in front of the tent, with the white dog and the campfire: my wife swears that’s her dad, seated with the cigarette in his mouth. I have my doubts. There are also some antlers beside his left leg. Did one of them bag a deer or were the antlers just used to rattle up a buck?
Wouldn’t you love to hear the story that goes with each photo? 
This big nocturnal, Kansas whitetail buck , antlers still in velvet, was hard to capture on one of my friend Scott Morgan’s many trail cams. Scott has several cameras scattered over a wide area near his home in eastern Kansas. He’s hoping to get a shot of a cougar that has been sighted in the vicinity. So far no luck on the cougar but lots of deer and turkey.
Matthew Dickerson was a June 2017 artist-in-residence at Glacier National Park. In May 2018 he was artist-in-residence at Acadia National Park. If you dream of fishing for native trout in some of our country’s most beautiful places – and protecting them – you will fall in love with his latest book The Voices Of Rivers.
After spending three days in Little Rock Arkansas attending the annual Outdoor Writers Association Of America conference Dave Zumbaugh and I headed north for Mountain Home and the fabulous White river.
Headquartered at Riley’s Station where the Buffalo River meets the White, Miles’ son Gavin drove us up to Rim Shoal. Dave and I stayed out of the way while Miles and Gavin launched the battered 20’ johnboat. With Dave and I safely aboard we motored upstream through heavy fog to Redbud Shoal, then started our drift back downstream throwing two-fly rigs…and catching trout.
When we had drifted through a particularly productive piece of water Miles would fire up the 9.9 hp Mercury and take us back upstream so we could drift it again…and again…and again until it stopped producing and we moved on downstream to the next hot spot.
We fished through the popular Rim Shoal area, on down through Lower Rim Shoal, catching and releasing 11’ to 16” rainbows with an occasional cutthroat or brown in the mix. Dave and I both playing a trout at the same time and keeping Miles busy with the net became almost commonplace.
The afternoon fishing was cut short about 2:30 when a violent electrical storm sent us grabbing for rain jackets. Our race downstream was briefly interrupted when the cowling blew off Miles’ outboard motor. After a few unsuccessful circles trying to find it we gave up and hauled ass for the safety of Riley’s Station.
Hot flies of the day were red San Juan worms tied on jig heads by the Riley’s twelve-year-old daughter Jalen, orange egg patterns and #16 zebra midges. And they proved just as effective the next day.
We had hoped to spend Day Two between Buffalo Shoal and Riley’s Station but the storm that had driven us off the water yesterday had turned Crooked Creek into a torrent of mud so once again we put in at Rim Shoal and immediately started boating and releasing trout. Looking for shade anyplace we could find it we pulled to shore at mid-day and once again enjoyed one of Miles’ (or maybe Michelle’s) gourmet lunches.
Somehow during our downstream float, happily bouncing off rocks and catching trout, Miles discovered the entire lower unit of the Merc was missing. This didn’t mean we were dead in the water but it did mean less power. So Dave and I continued to catch fish while Miles deftly maneuvered the big johnboat around rocks to avoid further damage. When we reached Crooked Creek and the inflow of muddy water we stowed the rods and, tired but happy, limped on down to Riley’s Station.
It’s always fun to spend a day on the river with outfitter/philosopher Miles Riley. This was Dave’s maiden voyage on the White. He’s already scheming to go back and I hope I can tag along. Meanwhile if you’d like to catch a mess of trout, see some beautiful Arkansas scenery or just relax in a nice, quiet cabin, check out Miles and Michelle’s website www.rileysstation.com. They’ll be looking for you!
All but three photos by Dave Zumbaugh.
≈
Some might call Jon and Josh’s hunt unsuccessful because nobody bagged a turkey. I’d call it a success. They said they were going turkey hunting and they did.
Photos by Jon Blumb.
I love it here in Florida but one thing I miss about moving from Kansas is the Outdoor Communicators of Kansas twice a year. It’s always fun to get together with old friends. Especially when they’re people whose work you admire and respect.
El Dorado, KS hosted this year’s conference May 3 – 5th. A hardy welcoming dinner kicked off the festivities Friday night followed by a business meeting. Saturday and Sunday were devoted to the important things: fishing and turkey hunting.
A crappie tournament was being held simultaneously with the OCK conference. I’ve never attended a crappie tournament, but if they’re like the three Bassmasters Classics I attended where the contestants had to release their catch, it’s a travesty of justice. Crappie are DELICIOUS and should be filleted, rolled in cornmeal , fried and EATEN!
Fishing was difficult due to recent rains and high water, but the winning team in the Kansas Crappie Club Big Fish tournament had one 2 lb. fish.
Doesn’t sound too good to me.
I’ve attended many Outdoor Communicators of Kansas conferences in the past. In May of 2008 photographer Blumb and I boated an obscene number of crappie on Clinton Lake near Lawrence with the help of a local fisherman. One crisp November morning in ’09 I lay on my back in a frozen field near Larned and listened to thousands of snow geese squawking overhead and never fired a shot. You can’t shoot what you can’t see and the fog was so thick I could hardly see a nearby treeline. So as you can see, being guided by local “experts” doesn’t guarantee success.
But it’s always fun.
I’ve asked some of the current attendees to send photos about this year’s conference to my blog. Let’s see what happens.
Blumb writes ..”Fishing was difficult due to recent rains and high water, but the winning team in the Kansas Crappie Club Big Fish tournament had one 2 lb. fish.
Sunday Josh Peck and I went turkey hunting, guided by Jason Barnes of Whitewater, KS. We were near a flock, but the gobbler and jakes ignored our calls, and drifted away with numerous hens, out of sight. We moved to another farm, located a distant solo gobbler, and proceeded to try to sneak closer and call him in. He drifted away, and we had a 1 mile hike back to our vehicle.
To finish the morning, we returned to the area where we started, and Josh attempted a sneak with a fan blind. Still no luck, so we called it a hunt and unloaded our shotguns. The temperature had risen to 72 degrees by noon, and we had walked a total of 4 miles, so I was ready for a break.”
Many thanks to Jon Blumb and Dave Zumbaugh for the photos.
