March 2015
Volume 3 Issue 6
Publishers Notes By Raf Viniard
28 Days Until Bear Season & 24 Days until Turkey Season!
They are getting ready are you? Opening Day:
Spring Turkey 11 April 2015
Spring Bear 15 April 2015
Front Cover Photo Provided by: Montana Mitzi The Elk Shed
Contact Us Montana Woods N Water 171 Clark Creek Loop Plains, Montana 59859 406-08-0576 www.montanawoodsnwater.com Email: raf@montanawoodsnwater.com
Publisher & Editor: Raf Viniard 406-407-0612 Photographer, Print Manager Tina Scott 406-830-7500 Field Editor: Mitzi Stonehocker 406-544-1868 Sales & Marketing, Lincoln County Kori Erickson 406-293-1478 Director of Social Media Misty Loveless 406-250-4191 Flathead Valley Rep: Vacant Missoula Sales Rep: Vacant Pro Staff Writers & Photographers: Angela Gerych Pastor Jim Sinclair Dan Helterline Zach Butcher Paul Fielder Montana Mitzi Toby Bridges Sam Martin Toby Walrath Jason Badger Tony Rebo Editorial Policy: Montana Woods N Water (MWW) reserves the right to refuse to publish in any form of content that does not include the author’s name, complete mailing address, and/or valid phone number or email address. Anonymous submissions will not be addressed or published. MWW reserves the right not to publish anything we feel is not in good taste or appropriate.
HUNTING
Bears & Bows -
By Raf Viniard
Pictured above is Zach Butcher of Plains, MT with a black bear he took with a bow. Even though bear season is not open yet I convinced Zach to share some of his lessons learned harvesting a bear with a bow. But first let’s gather some information from some other professionals to better help you hone in on that black spring bruin. I received an e-mail from our local game warden and he has not yet seen any black bears moving about. From the Grizzly bears GPS tracking they are starting to see where some Grizzlies are starting to move about. As snow flurries still occur off and on at the higher elevations it won’t be long until bears start making their appearances. Officer Troy Hinck stated, “Bears are all about food, if they have green grass and carcasses they will be fine with a little snow.” I also spoke with Erik Wenum, the Region 1 Bear Biologist with the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Here is some of the information he shared. Bears went into hibernation in good shape due to there being plenty of huckleberries last fall. With the milder winter they will still have some fat retention going into spring. Chimney dens like hollow dead trees will warm up first and with them still having a long outer coat of hair these type of dens will warm up faster. As each day gains about 1.52.5 minutes of daylight this will also spur the bears to come out of their dens. Once they are up, they are not likely to go back to bed even if the nightly temps drop to freezing or an unexpected snowfall graces us. The first bears to emerge from their dens will be adult males. Usually the middle to the last week in April. Due to warmer than normal temps a few bears may emerge a little early. When looking for bears focus on the south and east facing slopes. Until green grasses start showing up, a bears primary food source is carrion or dead animals that did not make it through the winter. Greenup normally happens about mid to late May. With bears already having plenty of reserves they will not be in bad shape... Cont. on page 4 2
ATTENTION !! This is quite possibly the most important ACTION ALERT we will send you this Legislative Session. HB212 has passed through the Legislative process and is now headed to Governor Bullock for him to sign into law OR veto! MT-SFW has been working hard in support of this bill and NOW we really need your support. We are advising every Montana hunter, trapper, angler, rancher and property owner to individually contact Gov. Bullock and encourage him to sign HB 212 to ensure these Montana traditions will be solidified. Here is how to contact Governor Bullock: Call toll free - 1-855-318-1330 or Email- governor@mt.gov PLEASE forward this to all your contacts who hunt, trap, fish, farm, ranch and live a rural lifestyle. HB 212 provides concise amendments to clarify "harvest" in parts of Title 87 of our Montana Constitution as it relates to fish and wildlife. To read the bill in its entirety click this link - http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2015/billpdf/HB0212.pdf Thank you for your participation! Yours in Conservation, Keith Kubista
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HUNTING
...going into the green up. Sows with cubs will be the last ones out of the den. Cubs will only be about 4-5 weeks old and weigh from 1.5 to 2.pounds. A sow will hang very close to the den until their young are ready to follow and forge.
down, the bear may not have seen you. Glass your surroundings before taking that next step and if a bear is spotted, plan your stalk keeping the wind direction in mind and doing so quietly. Stalking a bear across rock slides is not a good idea...just too much noise under foot.
Erik reminds bear hunters to take that little bit of extra time and make sure it is not a sow with cubs. Sows will usually be more nervous acting because of the cubs and do not display that large blocky head of a male. Sows will usually stay localized and not roam as much as a male. If you accidentally kill a sow that is lactating make sure you call your local warden for instructions. Cubs can be rescued and nurtured to a point that they can be released this fall back into the forest.
I like to hunt areas that rifle hunters can’t see very far...I just like a tighter hunting area. Old logging roads in deep ravines next to a running creek that is bordered by dark timber is ideal. The sound of the creek helps mask any noise you may make and having some cover on the sides of the roads gives you points to move to undetected.
Just because you are not seeing bears one day in an area that you know holds bear, don’t give up. Stay committed to that area. Hunt areas and drains that give you the Cubs only have about a 50% survival rate. In Region 1 we advantage. have about one bear per square mile and hunters only Zach also wanted to remind everyone to start inspecting harvest about 5%. Our average for Region 1 is about 250 and shooting your bow now. You probably haven’t pulled bears per season. Currently, Region 1 hunters harvest it out since last September to chase elk or deer. Next over 50% of the total bears harvested in Montana. month we will talk about what to look for when Now that we have the facts from Erik, let’s look at some inspecting your bow and some of the awesome new of the tactics Zach Butcher uses to bag a bear with a bow. broadheads that Trophy Taker has come out with this I look for bow country where you cannot shoot across a year to cut a nice hole in that black bruin. drain with a rifle...a little thick and plenty of cover. Bow is a short range weapon and the area you hunt must be conducive to that style and type of hunting. First, you need to find some good bear sign, scat, diggings, chewed or clawed trees. I like to sneak down gated logging roads. I feel bears have better eye sight than most people think but their hearing and sense of smell are very good. Make sure the wind is in your face and not blowing out in front of you or across the area you are hunting...keep the wind in your favor. Keep your movements small and slow when stalking roads or heavy cover that borders a clear cut or dark timber. Bears like the ability to move in and out of cover. If you are spotted by a bear, freeze and let things settle
This bear is approximately 40 yards away and the wind is in your favor. The bear has not seen or smelled you. Would you attempt to take this shot with your bow? 4
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FISHING
Of Springs Past, Present and Future Sam Martin March is here, the ice (hopefully) is gone from our waterways and anglers are readying their kit for action. As we prepare, however, there are many questions that plague us. Where the heck are all the fish at during this cold time of year? What are they biting? When should I hit the water? Why do they act the way they do? Well, comrades of rod and reel, I may have some answers for you. Let us rewind the clock a few years and settle in on the time of the BASS Federation Nation Divisional, held here in our beloved state on Noxon Reservoir. The air is uncomfortably cold, the water doubly so. From prefishing I had found some fish braving the temperature
swings of the shallows but, for the most part, every bass had remained in the comfortable stability of the frigid depths. Now some may be thinking that this helped to narrow down my search and tactics. Unfortunately, this was far from the truth. Try my best, I failed to determine a pattern by tournament time, which, needless to say, seriously impacted my moral. I had thrown every slow moving bait I could think of; dropshot, Carolina rig, weighted Senko. Nothing was making a difference. To my well-read mind, this was a paradox. Every article I had ever plowed my eyes through had told me that fish in the cold spring months were deep and lethargic, only willing to gobble up the slowest of artificial snacks. Why, I wondered, why were the experts so wrong about this? Is it me, or what?
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FISHING CONTINUED
With these questions nipping at my scalp, I begrudgingly entered the first day of competition.
day before and immediately began to repeat the parallel cast tactic. Much to our mutual surprise, nothing happened. Nothing bit despite our being able to see fish on the sonar. In a rut, I turned back to my old friend the dropshot and began casting around the edge of the rocks. Immediately I caught a good fish, and then another, and another! As before I didn’t question why this was working I simply went on catching fish.
The morning was cold, as expected. I and my army of That night, after a meal of microwaved unmentionables, I equipment boarded my assigned boat for the day, sat in the back of my Ford Explorer, retying my baits and captained by a quiet man of about fifty from out of state. thinking on the course of the previous pair of days. How We exchanged pleasantries and proceeded on our way. could one spot be so different in so short a time? It was a After a brief run we came to my boater’s location of perplexing thought certainly, but I decided that I would choice and began fishing. As I untangled my mess of rods wait till the next day to make any decisions on the topic. to get at my dropshot, I noticed however my boating And sure enough, on the final day of competition I caught partner pick this miracle picked up a generous looking all my fish shallow on spinnerbaits and stout-lipped crankbait and begin casting parallel to the sharp, rocky crankbaits. Though I did not do as well as I had bank we were now drifting down. I laughed to myself, previously, the success was undeniable due to my thought what an odd choice as he begin the tedious boater’s good results. process of finesse fishing. Alright, so what the heck am I getting at? The purpose of The first fish of the day went to me. It wasn’t anything to this anecdote, dear readers, is to highlight the volatile shake an Uglystick at, but it none the less built my and often unpredictable nature of fish during the frigid reassurance that I was fishing the right way. Then, to my pre-spawn period. Temperature fluctuation of great surprise, my boater caught a fish. Initially I thought sometimes less than a degree can cause fish to behave in this was a fluke and continued on my merry way, but as a way we would never think of. Sudden warm spurts will we continued my partner began to catch more and more drive them shallow only to be driven off the next by the fish, out pacing me significantly. Without bothering to inevitable return of the cold. ask why this was happening I immediately tied on a The point is that during spring you need to be ready to similar bait and found that I too could share in this move about and not be afraid to change baits often. For miracle. example, now a days I like to get a small tackle box and After the day’s weigh-in I asked my boater why that put one of every type of bait in it. Throughout the day I tactic had been so successful. He informed me that those will give each bait it’s turn at every spot so as to ensure I fish were feeding on small baitfish who were moving up, cover all my bases. Yes, I know, this all sounds like quite as the bass were, in “pre”-preparation for the spawn. the pain, but if we didn’t love this Bully, I thought, I’ll do the same thing tomorrow. sport we wouldn’t The next day I informed my new boater, like a fool, of the be out there in successful day I had had and what I was fishing with. We the awful cold both agreed that repeating this would be our best course in the first of action, so we made the short hop to the spot from the place. 8
Redneck Ball, 28 March 2015, 5:00PM Lakeside Motel & Resort, Trout Creek, MT Live Auction - Kevin Hill Auctioneer, 7:00PM Music by Dave & Deb Oliver This is a one of a kind show will not be seen anywhere else! Get your tickets early at one of the following locations: D & D Liquor, Thompson Falls, MT Lakeside Motel & Resort—Trout Creek, MT Trout Creek Community Improvement Association This is expected to be a sell out event! Proceeds benefit:
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MARCH 20th @ 1200 - Western States Fur Auction - Park County Fairgrounds, Livingston, MT · MARCH 21st - 23rd - Missoula Great Rockies Sport Show - Adams Center - U of M - Missoula, MT · MARCH 27th - 29th - Bozeman Great Rockies Sport Show Brick Breeden Fieldhouse - Bozeman, MT · MARCH 29th @ 1230 - District 6 Spring Membership Meeting - Havre, MT · APRIL 18th @ 0900 - District 2 Spring Membership Meeting - FWP, Spurgin Rd, Missoula, MT · APRIL 18th @ 1000 - District 2 Spring Membership Meeting - FWP, Kalispell, MT · MAY 3rd @ 0900 - MTA Board Meeting - Yogo Inn, Lewistown, MT See You There!
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LOCAL CELEBRITY
Country Boys At Work
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REPAIR ALL MAKES: Boats · PWC · ATV · Motor cycle · Snowmobile · Small Engine Suzuki – Tracker – Sun Tracker – Nitro – Taho – Mako – Canam – Seadoo – Skidoo Husqvarna: Mower s · Tr immer s · Chainsaws · Accessor ies Fishing Gear – Hunting Gear – FWP Licenses - Snowmobile Gear 4 Airport Road, Thompson Falls, MT 59873 · (406) 827-2950 66979 Highway 93, Ronan, MT 59864 · (406) 644-2950 www.sandssports.com Tuesday – Friday 9:00 - 5:30; Saturday 8:00 – 4:00
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Camo Sweetheart Ball Sponsors
Please thank these sponsors by shopping with them for making the Camo Sweetheart Ball such a success! Thank you! Big Bull Sports
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Thank You! 15
OUTDOOR VETS
Donna & Doug Chase owners of the non-profit organization Magazines For Troops (MFT) is based out of Lakeside, MT. MFT was started in their home by adopting a soldier serving in the middle east. Word soon spread of their effort to send magazines to our men and women serving on remote assignments. At the peak of the war they were serving over 270 military units shipping thousands of boxes of magazines. There are about 40 magazines in a box and cost $12.65 to ship one box. Donna said, “We don’t have a shortage of used magazines but we constantly struggle to have the money to ship them.” MFT needs your financial support to continue this patriotic undertaking. Go to their website and make a donation just to send one box a month for our troops. Montana Woods N Water donated leftover publications. Donate today! To learn more, call Donna at 406-844-2474. 16
Baldy Mountain Outfitters Outfitter License # 23173 Phone: 406-291-7656
Deer ● Elk ● Bear ● Mountain Lion Welcome to Baldy Mountain Outfitter Located in Plains, Montana We offer high quality hunts that fit the clients ability and needs. Our guides give 100% to make sure that the clients have the best possible hunt. We are out in the hunting areas before daylight and stay till the last shooting light to get the best chance of finding the big one. We have access to large areas of public and private land to hunt.
WWW.BALDYMTNOUTFITTER.COM 17