This nice walleye took a nightcrawler that I slow drifted in a deep eddy along the bank of the river. All of the fish that I caught were less than 25 feet from the shoreline.

The last four days have been a whirlwind. I took my first trip to Delta Waterfowl’s Winnipeg, Manitoba office on Thursday for meetings and the six-hour drive there and back were way more exciting than one might imagine. For the beginner waterfowler, it was a tremendous learning experience and a solid first step in my quest for knowledge about the exciting sport. If you are not a waterfowl hunter, you may not realize that this is the breeding season and that this time of year presents a great opportunity to view ducks and geese working hard to perpetuate their species. I saw a variety of different ducks during my travels including pintails, mallards, canvasbacks, and teal, as well as a number of others that I’m still learning to identify. In addition to seeing countless mating pairs floating together throughout the Prairie Pothole Region, I got to witness a number of courtship flights that made me want to stop the car. While the work meetings were important and productive, it was the drive there and back that made the trip memorable.

On Sunday evening I pushed through a number of chores around the house in order to free up some time to hit the river for the evening bite. I learned an important lesson about fishing the Missouri River in Bismarck at the end of an 80-degree weekend day, which is don’t bother heading out until at least 7:00 p.m. I had to endure countless motorboats and jet skis for the first hour or so before the water calmed down enough for reasonable fishing.

Once most of the human activity died down, the fish activity picked up. It started by my having to watch a little girl yank in a nice pike on her Snoopy rod followed by her slightly older brother reeling in a walleye. This was tough to take considering that I had yet to get a bite. To rub a little salt in my wounds, the kids and their mother were doing a victory dance that included just about everything but spiking the fish! Just as I was thinking to myself that I should stick to archery hunting, I felt a solid tug at the end of my line. After I was certain that the fish had a firm grip on the bait, I set the hook and the fight was on. After a brief struggle, I was reaching into the water and pulling out an 18-inch walleye. Finally my slump was over!

I put the fish on my stringer and thought it might be a good opportunity to try out my new electric fillet knife, but ultimately ended up releasing the fish since I didn’t catch any others that I felt were big enough. By the time the sun set, I caught four walleye and two suckers. One of the walleye was about 16 inches while the other two were much smaller. The second sucker I caught was a dandy. He probably weighed five pounds and put up the best fight of the night. When I released him back to the water I decided that as a good note to end on for the night. I can’t wait to get back out there and continue my hands-on education. I have to admit that I’m pleased with my progress.

My first fish from the Missouri River was a decent pike that hit a nightcrawler pattern on my retreive.

I couldn’t stand hearing the stories anymore. Nearly every person that I talked to spoke of excellent fishing on the river with literally dozens of walleye and pike per outing being the norm. Despite having just returned from a two-day trip to Toronto, I forced myself to get my gear in order and make my first cast into the famed waters of North Dakota. The Missouri River flows just out of sight of my back yard, and waiting another day to take advantage of this opportunity seemed like laziness. When daylight arrived, I hurriedly gathered my gear and headed for a spot that I had picked out a couple of weeks earlier while Angela and I were walking the dogs.

I have always been a trout fisherman and have only toyed with warm water species. Maybe it was because there simply aren’t a lot of great opportunities in western Pennsylvania, or I was simply too busy with a number of other summer activities. In North Dakota, trout take a backseat to walleye as just a few streams are stocked, and almost none of them resemble the deep-flowing cold waters I am used to in the east. Taking on this new endeavor means new equipment and a huge learning curve, which I am already finding out. And without the benefit of a boat (yet), my challenge is even greater.

A blanket of dense fog blanketed the prairie making it impossible to see the ducks and geese that I could hear moving through the area. A smile came to my face as I could hear several pheasant roosters cackling behind me, which might sound like a bit of a fairytale to my friends back home. I was starting to realize how special of a place North Dakota is for the outdoorsman. I spent a lot of time simply observing my foreign surroundings, being mesmerized by the silky flow of the magnificent river. The fact that I wasn’t having a lot of luck had no impact on the experience.

Although it took a while, the first strike resulted in my landing a decent-sized pike. Frankly, it was the largest one I ever caught despite the fact that it was only 20 inches or so long. The fish had beautiful markings and I admired it for an extra few seconds before releasing him back to the cold water. Over the next hour or so I missed two or three more fish, which included a couple of small walleyes taking a swipe at my jig pattern just feet from the shore. Although the catch tally wasn’t impressive, I learned a lot and became more comfortable with this new style of fishing.

I’m not sure when I will get back out to give it another shot, but the locals tell me that evenings tend to be better when fishing from shore. Apparently the walleyes work their way into shallow, warmer water looking for bait fish, which gives the guy in boots a fighting chance. With a little more experience, I should have more than just one fish to talk about. Maybe the next one will be a nice fat walleye that makes it to my grill.

We’re just about set for our incredible journey across the northern tier of the country from western Pennsylvania to central North Dakota. Angela and I, along with our two dogs Arrow and Sooky, and three cats, Mercy, Stella, and Vinnie, will be making the big move on Tuesday morning, and you can follow along on the WhitetailWriter.com Facebook page. If you don’t already “like” the Facebook page, be sure to do so.

Having already done the drive a couple of times I can tell you that it’s 19 1/2 hours and we do it over two days. It’s a pretty easy drive and you don’t even need directions until you get to Bismark, ND. From the PA Turnpike we’ll get on Interstate 80, then Interstate 90, and finally Interstate 94 to our destination. For a good stretch, you almost don’t have to turn the wheel. Although it’s a pretty easy drive, we haven’t done it with five animals and two vehicles, so this should be interesting!

I had seven whitetail mounts, a full-bodied turkey mount, and a full-bodied bear mount to prepare for the cross-country move.

As many of you know, we have been preparing for a cross-country move from western Pennsylvania to Bismarck, North Dakota. Being a person who has a decent collection of taxidermy, a move like this presents some challenges. After weighing my options, I determined the best option would be to properly crate each animal for shipping with the rest of our items by a professional moving company.

The first thing I had to decide was whether to make my crates entirely of wood, or simply make the shell out of wood and use cardboard for the walls. I decided to go with cardboard because it was significantly less expensive, and each crate would weigh less. In fact, I was able to visit the area recycling center for all of the cardboard I would need, making the job even less expensive. I used split 2x4s to build my frames and fastened the sections together with long wood screws. Although the shells alone were not very sturdy, they firmed up well once the cardboard was applied.

If you’re facing the need to relocate mounts, do yourself a favor and take the time to properly prepare them for the move. Remember, your mounts are irreplaceable so it makes sense to do everything you can to protect them. To save time in case of another move, break down your crates and save the components for future use.

Once again I have to give props to Darren Zola, owner of White Skullz Taxidermy. I sent him my Pennsylvania 8-point to work his magic on and my beautifully prepared European mount arrived at my office in North Dakota last week. When I arrived in town, I couldn’t wait to open the box and check it out, and as expected, Darren did a fabulous job. Just as the bear skull he did for me a few years ago is, the whitetail skull is also a thing of beauty.

European mounts are continuing to grow in popularity, and despite what you might think, all are not created equally. What is amazing about Darren’s work is the meticulous attention to detail, and a ceramic-like finish that you can almost see your reflection in. He does the entire job from start to finish, and does so with a level of skill and professionalism that is simply unmatched in my opinion. If you’re in the market for a European mount, I highly encourage you to give Darren at White Skullz Taxidermy a call!

Jason Sanders with his likely new world record 8-point.

A lot of people ask me why I travel to Illinois each fall when there are plenty of whitetails in my back yard. While I enjoy chasing some of the nicer bucks the live in my area, it doesn’t compete with annual trip to the Midwest. Not only do you get to witness unbelievable whitetail rut behavior in a largely unpressured setting, the mere sound of a twig snapping makes the hair on your neck stand up. All of your senses kick into high gear, and you can hear the sound of your heart pounding away in anticipation. Although it might just be a button buck, it could also very well be the next world record!

I came across this story on Field&Stream’s website and thought I would share it with my readers in case you didn’t hear about it already. It looks like the new world record 8-point was shot in central Illinois by a local farmer during the second shotgun season. I won’t re-write the story here as you can find it at the link above, but I will share that the buck green scored a remarkable 192 3/8″, which included 30″ and 32″ main beams. The net score was 183 1/8″, putting it nearly three full inches ahead of the current world record.

There are a lot of neat aspects to this story. For instance, Mr. Sanders admits that he’s more of a farmer than a hunter. He knew the big buck was in the area, set his stands accordingly, and eventually got his opportunity. He had no idea he was chasing a world record. He took the deer with open sights, and respectfully passed on a more difficult shot earlier in the season. Finally, he captured a trophy photo of the buck without knowing it at first. When he was checking his camera, his dog triggered the camera and amazingly, Sanders noticed the giant buck watching him in the background of the photo!

If you haven’t hunted Illinois yet, there is no reason to wait. You can hunt on the same properties that I do each fall, and there are still a few openings for the 2012 season. Take a few moments and check out the Riverview Outfitters website, and give Josh and Tyler a call if you have any questions. You can also feel free to contact me for a reference. I promise that you won’t find a more enjoyable and complete hunt for such a great price anywhere! Imagine yourself in a stand hunting where giant whitetail bucks roam, and the tingle down your spine that you will feel when you hear that twig snap.

Although I’m not a fan of most hunting shows, there are a few that I try to make time to watch, and one or two that I can’t wait to see. Perhaps my overall favorite in terms of outstanding adventures and creative video editing is Tom Miranda Outdoors. Bowsite.com did a great interview with Miranda and I wanted to share it with you. I found it to be outstanding reading, and I think you might be surprised by some of the things that he said.

I had the fortune of running into Miranda at the SHOT Show in January at the Under Armour booth and I can tell you that he’s probably way more of an “average Joe” than you would think. He will engage in conversation with anyone, and does not give off the vibe of self-promoting outdoor celebrities. I hope you enjoy the interview. Simply click the link below.

Tom Miranda Interview

I was driving through Wisconsin the other day and it made me think about the fact that it is illegal to shoot white deer there. Although I saw several deer including one buck, none of them were white or albino. Ironically, my Mom sent me a link to a neat story about white deer in Wisconsin, and I thought I would share it with you. You can watch the video here.