Bob Bang was here earlier in the week. We got in two days of hunting from the tug, then ran back to town in front of a big blow that came the next day. Back at the cabin, Bob helped me do the final design on the house build for the windows and walls and rooms and kitchen and woodstove locations. Bob took off yesterday morning back to Juneau.
After I dropped off Bob, I had coffee with a young troller here in Craig who has started direct marketing his own fish (spiritbearseafoods.com). I shared with him what experience and advice I could. Happy to see someone this young getting an early start in direct marketing. He seems to be doing well already. I send his smoked canned coho to people as thank you gifts for having us overnight on our travels, etc.
I replaced the house batteries on the tug awhile back, and struggled to get them charged properly. I bought the charger and shunt from BlueMarine.com, They’ve got customer service like I’ve rarely seen in recent times with so many layers of AI and clicks and phone trees I normally seem to face. I finally figured out there were some settings wrong, the batteries were never getting fully charged, and now I think we’re there and fully charged.
Today, I headed out in the truck to a favorite spot on the road system. I went there twice last year. Both times I saw a buck. Both times I did not get the buck.
I got to the parking spot at sunrise, changed into my cork boots, and headed up the mountain. I feel in even better shape this year, a year and a half onb the new hip and 70+ lbs lighter. I remembered the climb taking about an hour, but I was at the top of the trail before I knew it. Only half an hour hike. I slunked around to a little hill in the middle of a bunch of muskeg patches.
I shucked my pack, got out my ear muffs, chambered a round, took off the scope covers and wiped the scope lenses. and settled in. I called for about an hour, and had one doe come in. There was a foggy mist up there, and I could see the sun trying to burn it off, but the sun never came out by itself as I’d hoped. It was classic rainforest weather. I love it.
I crept further around the mountain side. I called another doe in little higher up in a section of big timber. Eventually, I worked my way back in a big circle back to the top of the trail, and headed back down to the truck about noon. I called in the big timber on the way down and saw the third doe of the day.
Back at the truck, I shucked my corks and rain gear and put them in the truck bed so they wouldn’t steam up the cabin, then poured a cup of coffee from the thermos. There’s nothing like hot coffee after hunting all morning.
So, three days of hunting in this fall. Don’t feel discouraged at all that I haven’t seen a buck. I know it’s early yet. And the older I get, the more the point of fall hunting is the hiking around. Haven’t felt this good since Peace Corps. Even my knees don’t ache at the end of the day. Decent.
