OUTDOOR CANADA MAGAZINE NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2023

BABE RUTH’S MARITIME CONNECTION

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MOOSE

ODDBALL FISHING

MASTERS THE BENEFITS OF

TACTICS

WHY WE LOVE WHITETAILS p. 48

GUIDED HUNTS

FALL WALLEYE GUARANTEE

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HUNTING’S IMAGE • SCOPE OPTICS • WILD FOOD & MORE

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

F E AT U R E S

VOL. 51, ISSUE 5

32 D E PA R T M E N T S & C O L U M N S 6 DISPATCHES Our readers write 9 OUTLOOK Preparing for future adventures BY PATRICK WALSH 1O JOURNAL Outdoor inspiration and information BY STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS 22 FAIR GAME The upside of eating wild fish and game BY STEPHAN LUKACIC 24 ON THE WATER How two anglers can catch more fish faster BY GORD PYZER 26 FLY FISHING Easy fixes for regaining your fishing confidence BY SCOTT GARDNER 28 BOWHUNTING Tips on ensuring your bow shoots well BY BRAD FENSON 30 IN THE FIELD Making sense of riflescope focal planes BY KEN BAILEY 66 HOMAGE The release BY ERIN KAY

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THE OUTFITTER OPTION

For the moose-hunting adventure of a lifetime, head into the wilds with a seasoned guide

BY MARK RAYCROFT

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RULE BREAKERS

It sometimes pays big to ignore tried-and-true tactics to catch fish, as these top anglers reveal

BY GORD PYZER

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THE WHITETAIL QUESTION

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BABE RUTH’S MARITIME CONNECTION

14 Hunting’s Image 22 Wild Food 30 Scope Optics

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ODDBALL FISHING

MASTERS

TACTICS

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WHY WE LOVE WHITETAILS p. 48

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COVER LINES

MOOSE

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When it comes to Canada’s favourite big-game animal, the white-tailed deer reigns supreme. Here’s why

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HUNTING’S IMAGE • SCOPE OPTICS • WILD FOOD & MORE

32 Moose Matters 40 6 Oddball Fishing Tactics 48 Why We Love Whitetails 54 Fall Walleye Guarantee 61 Babe Ruth’s Maritime Connection

COVER SHOT A TANK OF A BULL MOOSE LIP CURLS WHILE ON THE SCENT TRAIL OF A COW IN ALBERTA’S HIGH COUNTRY LAST AUTUMN. PHOTO BY MARK RAYCROFT

OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

LAST-CHANCE WALLEYE

Don’t put away that tackle just yet! The fall walleye bite can be the hottest of the year—if you know where to look

BY MIKE HUNGLE

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BABE IN CANADA

The most famous baseball player of his time, Babe Ruth also had a passion for fishing and hunting, especially in the Maritimes

BY CRAIG MITCHELL

W W W. O U T D O O R C A N A D A . C A | 3

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HUNTING TOP DOGS

From hounds and retrievers to pointers and setters, meet 16 of Canada’s most popular dog breeds for heading afield. Discover which type of dog suits your hunting style. outdoorcanada.ca/topdogs WATERFOWL WOES

Sometimes, even the best planned waterfowl hunts don’t work out. Here are eight ways your duck or goose hunt can go sideways, and how to get back on track when it does. outdoorcanada.ca/waterfowlwoes PRAIRIE WHITETAILS

Fifty top hunting tips

For a unique and challenging hunt, set your sights on the giant white-tailed deer of the Prairies. These expert tips will help you spot-and-stalk or still-hunt these huge, elusive bucks. outdoorcanada.ca/prairiewhitetails

FISHING

Canada is blessed with a rich diversity of wildlife habitat, and a correspondingly wide range of birds and mammals to hunt. From pursuing large ungulates and carnivores to upland birds and waterfowl, there’s no shortage of hunting options to enjoy. These 50 expert tips will help anyone, from tenderfoot to grizzled veteran, become a more successful hunter. outdoorcanada.ca/50huntingtips FALL FISH FINDERS

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@outdoorcanadamagazine Follow editor-in-chief Patrick Walsh on Twitter & Instagram @OutdoorWalsh Follow associate editor Scott Gardner on Twitter @OutdoorGardner 4 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 ]

To score big on end-of season walleye, smallmouth bass, muskies and northern pike, you need to be in just the right place at just the right time. Here’s how to locate and land late-fall lunkers. outdoorcanada.ca/fallfishfinders MUST-HAVE LURES

The perfect lure doesn’t exist, but these three come pretty close when it comes to catching fish all across Canada—and the world. Learn why every tacklebox should include bent-lipped crankbaits, swimbaits and spinners. outdoorcanada.ca/musthavelures ON THE WATER ONLINE

Outdoor Canada fishing editor Gord Pyzer regularly posts fishing tips, gear reviews and more on his blog, “On the Water Online.” Check in often to stay on top of exciting trends in the world of angling. outdoorcanada.ca/blogs W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

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PLEASED ABOUT POILIEVRE

RON P. ALTON ST. JOSEPH ISLAND, ONTARIO

I just read your rebuttal to detractors of Pierre Poilievre’s guest column. You missed the point they had. The writers didn’t have an issue with his “divergent viewpoint,” but with his lies and fear-mongering. These are his base tactics and I would have thought that an editor, striving to be fair, would recognize this.

FA I R G A M E BY GEORGE GRUENEFELD PIERRE POILIEVRE

BY BY GEORGE GRUENEFELD

Firearms fiasco

CONSERVATIVES VOW TO PROTECT HUNTING

BY TARGETING HUNTERS, OTTAWA IS MISSING THE MARK ON CRIME

L

OVE THE outdoors, Canada is nothing short of utopia. Our country is a paradise of lush woodlands, crystal-clear lakes and landscapes that have inspired Canadians and visitors from around the world. Over the years, the abundant natural beauty of our great nation has been admired and enjoyed by millions of proud and decent hunters and anglers, and you have persistently worked to preserve this bounty for future generations.

Unfortunately, the current Liberal government has targeted hardworking people like you—hunters, in particular—with its blatantly ideological policies.

The government’s attempted hunting rifle ban, Bill C-21, is the most recent example of Liberals demonizing hunter-conservationists in this country for cheap political point scoring. While violent crime continues to plague city streets across our country, and illegal, smuggled handguns are flooding across the border, the Liberal solution has been to target millions of legal rifles and shotguns that Canadian hunters use every single day.

The current government’s abysmal record on crime only makes this approach more galling. Since Justin Trudeau took office, violent crime in Canada has increased by 32 per cent. Gang-related homicides have risen by 92 per cent. And in 2021, there were 124,000 more violent crime incidents than when Conservatives were last in government, in 2015.

Instead of taking real action to keep our cities safe, however, the Liberals have chosen to go after the millions of Canadians who use firearms for hunting and shooting sports, as well as for dealing with farm pests and keeping their property safe. They have also ignored Indigenous leaders, who have denounced C-21 for encroaching on their constitutionally protected hunting rights. Instead of listening to these important voices, Liberal MPs snuck in a 478-page amendment at a parliamentary committee after the legislation had been through a full round of debate in Parliament.

Thankfully, after months of sustained pressure from Canadians such as you and advocacy from Conservatives, the government has temporarily paused its hunting rifle ban. But the damage has already been done. Trudeau’s attempted firearms grab was the largest in our history, and it has exposed his government’s disdain for Canadian hunters. It has also shown C-21 for what it is, a cynical, ideologically motivated scheme to distract from the Prime Minister’s failures on public safety. Undoubtedly, the Liberals will try this again if they ever get the chance. In an interview with CTV just this past December, Trudeau himself

said his plan was to “take away” guns from people using them to hunt.

While the Liberals were forced to temporarily withdraw their expansive amendments, C-21 remains a deeply flawed piece of legislation. It retains bans on many popular guns covered in the government’s unilateral Order in Council from May 2020, and it continues to target millions of law-abiding gun owners.

Notably, the withdrawal of the amendments also fails to address the Liberal government’s intention to confiscate the millions of guns that still fall under C-21. In September last year, Ottawa announced a confiscation program with scant details, leaving Canadian hunters wondering if they would eventually be put on the wrong side of the law.

Questions around implementation and compensation have also yet to be addressed. While the entire country is suffering from out-of-control inflation fuelled by government overspending, the Liberal’s proposed confiscation program would tack on a minimum of $756 million.

It is an outrage that at a time when our cities are being held hostage by thugs who use illegal handguns smuggled in over the border, and as millions of Canadians are forced to use food banks just to get by, Justin Trudeau is planning to spend millions in taxpayers’ money to confiscate guns from those least likely to commit crimes.

The irony in all of this is that, despite the government’s attempts to sing its own praises when it comes to protecting our natural environment, the Liberals are targeting some of the strongest champions of conservation. Hunters have always been on the front line of ethical and sustainable hunting practices. They have worked tirelessly to keep our lakes and rivers clean.

Conservatives recognize that penalizing these patriotic hunters, who are vetted, trained and licensed, is not the way to address the concerns of Canadians around public safety.

We will continue to defend the rights of hunters—and defend their timeless Canadian traditions. OC

GREG BLACK VIA FACEBOOK

hunters,” as one letter writer stated.

It has to do with seeing basic rights and freedoms being eroded before our eyes, with a leadership that makes criminals out of law-abiding people.

18 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ M A Y/J U N E 2 0 2 3 ]

TRAVIS TYERS

First of all, I’d like to thank you for printing the opinion piece from Pierre Poilievre (“Firearms fiasco,” May/June). I’m flabbergasted by the comments in the following issue opposing the inclusion of the article (“Dispatches,” July/August). That feedback only certifies the fact that, within the hunting community, we have a fringe group that actually accedes to the ill-conceived gun-control notions of the Trudeau Liberals—policies that are nothing but scare-mongering, vote-buying penetration into our large urban centres.

We already have reasonable firearm laws concerned safety training, background checks, safe storage and safe transportation, among others. Those regulations have been on the books for decades, so any sensible person should know that what’s happening now with Bill C-21 is nothing but government overkill with no legitimate purpose. Poilievre spoke the truth, and as the leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, he’s committed to supporting the rights of law-abiding firearm owners and focusing laws on the criminal element instead. Keep up the good analysis on the gun file. We need more of this.

LARRY LYBECK SALMON ARM, B.C. GUEST COLUMNIST PIERRE POILIEVRE LEADS THE FEDERAL CONSERVATIVES.

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

Thank you for sharing the viewpoint of Pierre Poilievre, as we need to freely discuss different opinions. It is clear that the Liberals want to slowly and methodically ban all firearms, which would end hunting in Canada as we know it.

Some people with entrenched political views do not want to be reminded of this reality. Thank you for standing up for freedom of speech, and keeping this important discussion going.

ALLEN HEWKO NEILBURG, SASKATCHEWAN

PEEVED ABOUT POILIEVRE (STILL)

It is with disbelief that I read the two negative letters in relation to Pierre Poilievre’s opinion column. Apparently, there are still children who pick up their marbles and go home instead of studying and researching an issue that directly affects all readers. I’m sure that explanatory comments from Trudeau and/or his lackey Singh would be published if they had anything intelligent to counter-offer.

Unfortunately, politics is part of our outdoor lives.

JOSEPH BROWN CALGARY, ALBERTA

Bravo Outdoor Canada! Thanks for having the courage to refuse to buckle under to the all-pervasive ideological pressure placed on Canadians.

What we are really facing in our land has nothing to with being politically biased or holding a position that “twists and plays with the emotions of

Please add my name to those expressing disappointment over your periodical’s seemingly increased intent to publish politically biased content.

Pierre Poilievre’s article is just one such example. I found your editor’s note in response to those expressing this same concern quite disingenuous. If a contributor to your magazine offering a balanced and well-reasoned treatise on such a divisive topic as gun control cannot be found, I suggest no coverage of this controversy in your magazine at all. If I want to read a tabloid on the topic, I’ll purchase one at the grocery store. Outdoor Canada can do better. You owe it to your subscribers. You owe it to those who enjoy outdoor pursuits looking for unbiased coverage. Tribalism has no place in this community. Please do not peddle it.

6 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 02 3 ]

PETER KELLEY LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA

An outdoor person my whole life and subscriber to Outdoor Canada since I was a teen, I am now cancelling my subscription and burning it. For some insane reason, the magazine published an article by guest columnist Pierre Poilievre voicing his BS rhetoric about Liberals picking on hunters. The Conservative narrative that Liberal laws target hunters and outdoorsmen instead of criminals is a cop out, created by a very small, selfish minority who got all pissy because somebody took away their toys designed to kill people, not wild game. By publishing this nonsense, Outdoor Canada has reduced its status to rag status, right up there with Rebel News and the free tabloids you get in bus shelters.

Everyone in three generations of my family are outdoors people who respect nature and our heritage of hunting and fishing. Poilievre is not outdoors material, or an expert in firearms or the law, much less anything else other than being one of the longest tax welfare recipients in Parliament. Do better Outdoor Canada, better because this sucks.

CAPTAIN DICK VIA TWITTER

The editor replies: We continue to make no apologies for presenting a variety of different opinions on matters of importance to Canadian anglers and hunters—and that includes opinions from our duly elected officials.

TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT

Mike Hungle’s article about limiting the catch versus catching the limit got my dander up (“For the fish,” July/ August). Manitoba sets limits and size restrictions to prevent overfishing. We don’t need virtue signaling from someone who thinks they know better. In that very same issue of the

of our shot glasses were the numbers of the stands each of us were assigned to.” This leaves me with the distinct impression that the participants were consuming alcohol before heading out, something I strongly oppose. We do enjoy alcoholic beverages in our hunting camp, but only after the hunt is done for the day and the firearms are put away.

FA I R G A M E BY GRUENEFELD

BY MIKE HUNGLE

BY GEORGE GEORGE GRUENEFELD

ever before. And by spending much of the open-water season at my lakeside cabin, I have more opportunities to go fishing. If I kept a limit every time out, I could jeopardize future fish populations.

What’s more, I’d never be able to eat or store all those fish before they went bad. Besides, health authorities tell us many of our native fish species contain mercury, and we should therefore limit our consumption in the first place to avoid becoming ill.

These days, I’m happy to limit my keep, and I’m never disappointed when I come off the lake without a full livewell to prove my efforts.

On most outings, in fact, I practise catch-and-release, only bringing home memories of the day and some photos.

SET YOUR OWN LIMITS

For the fish

LIVE-RELEASE IS GOOD FOR OUR FISHERIES

WHY ANGLERS SHOULD LIMIT THEIR CATCH, NOT CATCH THEIR LIMIT

H

OW DO YOU define a successful day on the water? Is it catching and keeping a limit of fish every outing, or is it catching enough fish for an occasional meal and letting the rest go? When I first started fishing 55 years ago, it was all about bringing home limits of fish to to eat. That was the way my dad grew up, and how he taught me. In his era, anglers fished for food, not for entertainment or relaxation—success was measured by limiting out, and by how long it took to do so.

Over the years, my views on fishing have evolved, and I know I’m not alone.

According to the most recent Survey of Recreational Fishing conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the average number of fish kept per angler in Canada dropped from 45 in 1990 to 20 in 2015. Even though the average number of fishing days stayed consistent over that time, the percentage of kept fish dropped from 56 per cent to 34 per cent. With more than three million anglers in Canada, however, that still represents a lot of retained fish nationwide.

Fish can only be a renewable resource if populations are properly managed; if they’re overharvested in a particular waterbody, population levels will fall dramatically. Unless fisheries managers step in and implement reduced harvest limits, or start stocking efforts, the fishing in such waterbodies will never improve. At the same time, angler attitudes need to change to help avoid problems in the first place.

On those days I do keep fish to eat, I only retain those that fall within a certain size limit, even though the regulations in my home province of Saskatchewan allow me to harvest larger fish. Walleye are among my favourite fish to eat, for example, but I only keep those that are between 14 and 18 inches in length, despite the rules allowing me one fish over 22½ inches. I release any fish on either side of my self-imposed size range.

I practise this selective harvest for two reasons. First, smaller fish just taste better than bigger fish.

But more importantly, I know that releasing larger fish is good for the resource—studies show that the bigger the fish, the more eggs they will produce. As well, bigger fish produce larger eggs than smaller fish, and those larger eggs result in bigger fry, which have a higher survival rate than smaller fry.

I choose to limit my keep and not always keep my limit because I feel doing so will help ensure there are healthy fish populations for years to come. If you haven’t thought about your own reasons for fishing in a while, start with this critical question: Just because the law says you can keep a limit of fish, should you?

You might just come up with the same answer as me. OC

DALE ENGSTROM LAKE ISLE, ALBERTA

FISHING ISN’T JUST FOR FOOD

While I still really enjoy a fish fry from time to time, I no longer fish just to eat.

Rather, I fish for the sights, sounds and fresh air. I enjoy the camaraderie and conversations with fishing partners, and the thrill of trying to figure out where the fish are biting. Throw in the excitement of a fish smashing my offering and the ensuing fight, and I’ll go fishing whenever I can.

With all the advancements in fishing gear and electronics—and my collective knowledge of fish habits and habitats—I also catch more fish these days than

2 2 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 ]

GUEST OPINION WRITER MIKE HUNGLE FISHES AS MANY AS 60 DAYS A YEAR.

CALF QUOTE QUESTIONED

I received my magazine in the mail today and was excited as usual. My excitement soon turned to anger, however, when I read the short story about Mark Skage’s “decision to let an abandoned moose calf climb into »

MATT DORT

magazine, there’s an article about the Saskatchewan fish hatchery and the millions of walleye fry released annually (“Walleye world,” West edition).

Follow the regs, Mike, and you’re not going to overfish. My family regularly enjoys a good meal of walleye. I rarely catch my limit, but I’m sure happy when I do, and I’m not going to apologize for that.

T.J. Schwanky replies: You can rest easy, Dale. We toasted with a nonalcoholic beverage to honour a longstanding Finnish tradition.

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

WES PANKRATZ MINNEDOSA, MANITOBA

Mike Hungle replies: I’m glad to hear you like to eat walleye, as I also find them very tasty. By no means did I want to get anyone’s dander up.

Rather, I wanted people to think about the impacts of taking a limit of fish out of a lake on a daily basis. I also wanted to point out how big fish produce more eggs than smaller fish, and that those bigger fish are vital to the health of our lakes. Excessive harvests can be harmful to fish populations.

Take Saskatchewan’s Tobin Lake as an example. Years ago, it was common for anglers to catch tons of large walleye and take them home to eat. With those big fish gone from the system, however, the quality and quantity of fish fell dramatically. Now that there are special rules in place on Tobin to protect big fish, the fishing has improved dramatically. Stocking programs are wonderful, but they’re put in place to help meet the demands of the harvest on lakes that can’t support enough natural reproduction to keep up.

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I enjoyed T.J. Schwanky’s story on the new Sako line and his experience with the Finns (“Foreign Exchange,” July/August). However, one line in the story does disturb me: “We then toasted the hunt, and in the bottom

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D I S PA T C H E S OUR READERS WRITE OUR READERS WRITE

The editor replies: Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Mark Skage’s comment about putting a moose calf in his pickup truck. The “On the Record” quote in the magazine is designed to draw attention to issues and events of the day, such as this one; it is not to meant to be a comprehensive

8

overview, or to offer an opinion. We do hope that “On the Record” provides good fodder for campfire discussions, though. In retrospect, we at least should have attributed the description of the incident to the CBC. I am sorry you have decided to end your subscription over this. OC

PLEASE E-MAIL YOUR COMMENTS TO EDITORIAL@OUTDOORCANADA.CA. ALSO CONNECT WITH US ON INSTAGRAM (@OUTDOORCANADAMAGAZINE), TWITTER (@OUTDOORCANADA AND @OUTDOORCANADAW) AND FACEBOOK (FACEBOOK.COM/OUTDOORCANADA).

his truck to escape a nearby black bear” (“On the record,” Hunting Special). It was not factual. I know that CBC had a story and you followed it, but fact-checking is looking at multiple sources.

Had you watched the Global News video, you would have learned the calf did not hop into the truck. It was pushed in, as it was kicking with its legs out trying to stay away from the truck cab. I know this because the video included company dashcam footage. Also, there was zero proof of a black bear. Another point not included in your story was the fact Skage drove with the calf for five and half hours. Why was that necessary?

As Global reported, Skage already had multiple problems with the company prior to this incident, so it makes a lot of sense why he was fired.

Now, I understand that other sources such as the Toronto Sun also sided with Skage, but you guys had the worst wording. I don’t care if you agreed with Skage or not, but you needed to word things more accurately. For example, you should have made it clear there was not necessarily a black bear. And sure, he saved the moose calf, or so he says. But what about the bear, if there even was one. Did it starve because Skage interfered with nature? Did the moose cow spend the next few days in a state of panic not knowing where her calf went? Wildlife management is for scientists, not a person who wants to be famous and cause controversy. I am very disappointed with you guys and am no longer planning on renewing my subscription.

NAME WITHELD BY REQUEST PRINCETON, B.C.

8 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 02 3 ]

OUTLOOK

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

BY PATRICK WALSH

Fuel for the fall A

E S TA B L I S H E D 1 9 7 2

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & BRAND MANAGER Patrick Walsh

S I WRITE this during the first week of October, my

home province of Ontario is going through yet another unseasonal heat wave. This very day, in fact, the temperature is expected to reach a summer-like 29°C, complete with bluebird skies. That’s great weather if you plan to hit the links or go bass fishing, but it certainly doesn’t fit with my vision of a perfect fall day. With the grouse, waterfowl and whitetail bow seasons now underway in my neck of the woods, I’d rather see a cold north wind and frosty mornings to get things kicking into high gear. The good news is, preparing the content for this issue has at least helped me get my head in the game—I even got out for a quick grouse hunt between edits over the past weekend.

There’s certainly plenty to chew on in the pages ahead, whether you’re making plans for this fall or beyond. Diehard open-water anglers will appreciate Mike Hungle’s tips on targeting end-of-season walleye (page 54), for example, while others may want to put Gord Pyzer’s oddball fishing tactics to use before the ice arrives (page 40). On the hunting side of the equation, Ken Bailey reminds us of the many awesome reasons why whitetails are Canada’s favourite big-game animal (page 48). And Mark Raycroft provides the lowdown on guided moose hunts, giving you ample time to book your own adventure for next fall (page 32). History buffs, meanwhile, are sure to enjoy Craig Mitchell’s look back at legendary baseball player Babe Ruth’s Maritime connection (page 61).

As for me, I plan to head afield as much as possible as soon as this issue goes to press, and it looks like Mother Nature just might cooperate. The daytime high is forecasted to drop to a more seasonable 8°C over the coming weekend and I, for one, am looking forward to pulling out my woollies, putting another log on the fire and planning my further fall hunting forays. Have an excellent autumn, my friends. OC

CONTRIBUTORS

MANAGING EDITOR Bob Sexton ASSOCIATE EDITOR & WEB EDITOR Scott Gardner ART DIRECTOR Sandra Cheung FISHING EDITOR Gord Pyzer HUNTING EDITOR Ken Bailey

PUBLISHER Mark Yelic NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS Rosemary Bubanovich, Dave Harkley RETAIL AND CLASSIFIED ACCOUNT MANAGER Chris Holmes MARKETING MANAGER Desiree Miller DIRECTOR OF RETAIL MARKETING Craig Sweetman AD TRAFFIC COORDINATOR Michaela Ludwig DIGITAL COORDINATOR Lauren Novak CIRCULATION & CUSTOMER SERVICE Marissa Miller, Lauren Novak CONTROLLER Anthea Williams OUTDOOR CANADA IS PUBLISHED

BY OUTDOOR GROUP MEDIA LTD. Outdoor Canada magazine (ISSN 0315-0542) is published six times a year by Outdoor Group Media Ltd.: Fishing Special; May/June; July/August; Hunting Special; November/December; and January/February.

Printed in Canada by TC Transcontinental.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada, one year (six issues), $24.95 plus tax. U.S., one year, $39.95. Foreign, one year, $69.95. Send name, address and cheque or money order to: Outdoor Canada, 802-1166 Alberni St., Vancouver, B.C. V6E 3Z3 MAIL PREFERENCE: Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies whose products and services may be of interest to our readers.

If you want your name removed, contact us via the subscripton contact below.

Publication Mail Agreement No. 42925023. Send address corrections and return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Outdoor Canada, 802-1166 Alberni St., Vancouver, B.C. V6E 3Z3 USPS #014-581. U.S. Office of publication, 4600 Witmer Industrial Estates, Unit #4, Niagara Falls, N.Y .14305. U.S. Periodicals Postage paid at Niagara Falls, N.Y. Postmaster: Send address changes to Outdoor Canada, P.O. Box 1054, Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14304-5709. Indexed in Canadian Magazine by Micromedia Ltd. EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS: We welcome query letters and e-mails, but assume no responsibility for unsolicited material.

A lifelong angler and hunter, Regina, Saskatchewan’s Mike Hungle says his seasonal outdoor pursuits often focus on what he calls the three Ws: waterfowl, whitetails and walleye.

In “Last-chance walleye” starting on page 54, he shares proven tips on where to look for late-season ’eyes, and how to catch them once you do.

As the daughter of two wildlife biologists, it was probably inevitable that St. Albert, Alberta’s Erin Kay would develop a keen interest in fishing and hunting. For this issue’s backpage Homage, the 22-year-old marketing associate pays tribute to the most important part of sportfishing for some anglers—the live release.

Our Edmonton, Alberta-based hunting editor, Ken Bailey, is a true white-tailed deer aficionado. In “The whitetail question” (page 48), he digs into the reasons why the wily ungulate is considered Canada’s favourite big-game animal.

And in his regular column this issue (page 30), he examines riflescope focal planes.

When it comes to this magazine’s creative and catchy page designs, full credit goes to our long-time art director, Sandra Cheung, who is also a keen marathon runner.

This September, she competed in the Berlin Marathon, finishing 86th in her gender/age group and 5,654th overall out of some 48,000 runners.

Way to go, Sandra!

Distributed by Comag Marketing Group. ©2023 Outdoor Canada. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any article, photo or artwork without written permission of the publisher is strictly forbidden. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material.

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W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA | 9

JOURNAL

O U T D O O R I N F O R M AT I O N & I N S P I R AT I O N

SCENE Busted! Betrayed by his massive headgear, an impressive big bull tries to sneak unnoticed through the heavy timber during the rut in Alberta’s elk country.

P H OT O BY M A R K R AY C R O F T

10 | O U T D O O R C A N A D A [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 ]

NUMBERS GAME

4

Great white sharks discovered dead on beaches in P.E.I, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec over a one-year period ending in August. While the deaths are so far unexplained, shark biologist John Chisholm from Boston’s New England Aquarium says they show the great white population is growing thanks to conservation measures.

$5.9 millon

Cost of culling up to 900 invasive European fallow deer and restoring native plants and trees on B.C.’s Sidney Island.

Local First Nations and Parks Canada will conduct the cull this winter, despite outcry from animal advocates.

7%

Decline in the total breeding duck population surveyed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Canadian Wildlife Service and other partners. Dropping from 34.7 million ducks in 2022, this year’s count of 32.3 million birds is also nine per cent below the long-term average, highlighting the need for more wetlands conservation.

See www.ducks.org for the full report.

49

Public warnings this year over toxic blue-green algae blooms in Alberta waterbodies, as of mid-September. Ducks Unlimited Canada says the blooms are appearing earlier and more often, triggered by factors such as nutrient-rich runoff and climate change.

ON THE RECORD

“The science is clear.

The root cause of this is climate change.”

—Warning it could extend into winter in some regions, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson pins the blame on climate change for Canada’s unprecedented wildfire season. As of mid-September, a staggering 173,000 square kilometres of habitat had burned, more than doubling the previous annual record set in 1989.

W W W . O U T D O O R C A N A D A . C A | 11

JOURNAL IN SEASON

JUST SET IT UP AND LEAVE IT

REMOTE VIEWING HOW TO GET THE BEST WILDLIFE IMAGES FROM CELLULAR TRAIL CAMS

BY GORD NUTTALL

B

Y INTEGRATING WIRELESS communication with high-resolution imagery, cellular trail cameras allow us to remotely monitor and study the secret lives of wildlife like never before. With traditional trail cams, you have to physically swap out the memory card, which risks contaminating the area with your scent. Not so with cellular cameras, which send photos and videos directly to your smartphone or home computer. Here’s what to keep in mind to ensure you get quality results.

POWER Since cellular trail cams send and receive digital data, they use up power more quickly than traditional trail cams. Fortunately, there are several options that don’t require you to visit your camera to swap out batteries. First, you can connect a rechargeable 12-volt battery pack, which provides a continuous power source and lasts longer than standard AA batteries. You can also connect a solar panel, which can recharge the camera’s batteries during daylight hours.

As well, cellular trail cams can be programmed to only capture and transmit images during scheduled time ranges, which saves power. You can also adjust the trigger frequency and sensitivity so the camera doesn’t waste power by taking multiple photos of the same animal, or get triggered by falling leaves.

PLACEMENT As with traditional trail cams, it’s important to securely set up your cellular cam where there’s plenty of adequate lighting. You also want to ensure a clear line of sight, so remove any obstructions and nearby undergrowth, which can creep into your photos as things green up in the spring.

And to help keep the lens clear of frost on cold winter mornings, place the camera so it’s facing south. At the same time, mount it 10 feet off the ground, pointing downward. This doubly serves to keep it out of reach of animals (and humans), while preventing blown-out photos from the sun. You can also strap plastic bird spikes or two-inch PVC pipes around the antenna to protect it from critters.

PLANS When selecting a cellular network plan for your camera, consider the network’s compatibility, the amount of coverage in the area you’ll be hunting, and the contract terms. Offering various features, these plans require subscriptions, with the fees based on data usage. For one set of my cameras, I purchase the SIM card plan and program the cameras to transmit the images directly to me via email or text. On another set of cameras, I pay for access to an online application to view my images. Shop around to learn the pros and cons of each plan. OC 12 | O U T D O O R C A N A D A [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 ]

NORTHERN PIKE

Many pike anglers fish small, shallow, weedy lakes with dense populations of northerns more often and longer than they should. They figure they can sift through the smaller pike and eventually nab a trophy, but it rarely works out that way. Just ask the researchers at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. After sampling several densely populated pike lakes, they found that fewer than six per cent of the female fish were longer than 30 inches, while fewer than three per cent reached 34 inches. The main reasons? Warm summer water temperatures, low oxygen levels and a lack of quality forage.

Whenever possible, therefore, it’s best to instead target the biggest pike lakes you can find—with ample depths in the 40- to 60-foot range—that provide quality pelagic forage. They should also have clear, trout-type water, which helps northerns feed more successfully, according to research. In water with oneto three-metre visibility, for example, the body weight of the pike increases by six per cent with every additional metre of visibility.

To catch the biggest pike in the system during fall, you should cast or troll muskie-sized jerkbaits, glidebaits, swimbaits, spoons and doubled-bladed bucktails. As hard as it may be for some anglers to believe, from an energy perspective, the optimum prey size for tiger muskies, the northern pike/muskie hybrid, is 40 per cent of the predator’s total length. In turn, that means a 40-inch pike—the minimum trophy size for most anglers—will devour a 16-inch sucker, cisco or whitefish, or even a fellow pike. A true trophy 50-incher, on the other hand, will have no trouble eating a 20-inch bait. When it comes to catching trophy northerns in the fall, the expression “go big or go home” truly applies.

—GORD PYZER

GORD NUTTALL (CELLULAR TRAIL CAM); JAMES SPIERS (PIKE)

OUTDOOR SMARTS

Delaware, Ontario’s Sean McClelland was hunting not far from home during the whitetail rut in November 2021 when he took this big buck with his compound bow. Says Sean: “I was thankful to have the opportunity to harvest this awesome 10-pointer.”

TROPHY WALL

HOT SHOTS PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORIES OF FUN DAYS AFIELD AND ON THE WATER

W

E ENJOY SEEING pictures of your fish-

ing and hunting accomplishments— and learning the stories behind them.

Please e-mail us your images, along with any relevant details (who, what, where and when), and we’ll post them on Instagram and publish our favourites here.

Shaun Stratford is quick to credit others for his hunting success, but he was on his own in September 2021 when he shot this 803.9-pound boar in northern Ontario. “I was in disbelief,” says the Hamilton man. “I knew he was big, but I didn’t really understand just how big until I tried to roll him over.”

Ten-year-old Keegan Sydorko of St. Malo, Manitoba, iced this chunky 24-inch walleye last December 31 on frozen Lake Winnipeg. “It was a great way to end the year!” says dad Vince, noting Keegan’s catch was the first fish of “what proved to be a very successful outing.”

8

One day after filling his antlerless mule deer tag (below), Lucas Henrion harvested his first-ever whitetail last November just east of his family home in Storthoaks, Saskatchewan. According to dad Joshua, they had been spotting and stalking when Lucas, 12, made the “perfect shot” at 150 yards. OC

PLEASE E-MAIL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS AND RELEVANT DETAILS TO EDITORIAL@OUTDOORCANADA.CA. ALSO BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR INSTAGRAM PAGE: @OUTDOORCANADAMAGAZINE.

W W W. O U T D O O R C A N A D A . C A | 1 3

JOURNAL

HUNTERS COME FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE

IMAGE ISSUE

GIVING HUNTING A POSITIVE PUBLIC FACE BEGINS WITH EACH OF US

BY ROBERT PYE

I

SHOULDERED MY my shotgun and fired as fast as the flush, then paused to inhale the pleasantly pungent fragrance of gun smoke. We’ve all done it, closed our eyes for a few seconds to let those lingering notes awaken outdoor reflections.

It’s something hunters understand, but absolutely lost on the majority of Canadians who’ve never walked in the footsteps of a hunting family, let alone fired a gun.

STANDING PROUD Yes, we love to hunt, but others need to know we do more than just that. Hunters are among the top donors and volunteers for kids’ minor sports and camps, for example, as well as for major charities and service clubs. Hunters are on the

SCOTT LINDSAY

EASTERN VIEW

The same goes for National Hunting, Trapping and Fishing Heritage Day, celebrated annually on the third Saturday of September. It’s been 10 years since an act of Parliament made this day official, but has anyone without a camouflage hat even noticed? Instead, fears and misinformation continue to spread throughout our society about most things hunting, from the use of sporting dogs and guns, to the death of the animals we proudly pose with.

When it comes to the public’s overall views on hunting, however, I believe indifference at least outnumbers intolerance. That means there’s still hope for a national campaign to truly inspire Canadians to think differently about hunting. It begins with expressing the values of the people who hunt, not just the value of hunting itself.

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frontline for emergency calls, because they’re firefighters, hydro workers, nurses and police. Hunters are students and professionals in the trades, environmental science, the arts and the military.

They’re celebrities, politicians and factory retirees. Some make their living on Bay Street, while others live off the land.

Hunters care about major issues, such as mental health, food security, the economy and climate change. They promote safety and ethics, and encourage kids to get off their phones and get outdoors. The lifestyles and backgrounds of hunters today are as diverse as the outdoor interests that all Canadians share. And just because we wear camo, it doesn’t mean we need to hide those facts. Thankfully, some hunters are finding new ways to openly emphasize how giving back is in our nature.

CARING AND SHARING Local gun club events such as charity trap shoots, for example, show how the hunting community and nonhunters can literally pull together. In my home province of Ontario, hunters also donate game meat to sup-

port charity dinners, with the proceeds going towards the likes of new hospital equipment. They also help support local foodbanks with cash donations and collections of non-perishable goods, as well as game meat where legally allowed.

Under new migratory bird regulations, hunters may also now donate waterfowl for charitable purposes.

Over the years, various hunting organizations have also promoted the Crime Stoppers and Report-A-Poacher programs, as well as campaigns to respect private property and motorist safety in deer and moose country. They’ve also rallied volunteers for roadside and parkland litter clean-ups.

All of these initiatives support community needs well beyond the conservation pledge. And such outreach tends to earn positive mainstream media attention, helping counter an unconscious bias that might otherwise allow governments to take aim at lawabiding hunters and their traditions.

management, while recognizing the great alliances that can be made with others in non-consumptive environmental organizations. They may not sport blaze orange or appreciate hunting on a grouse trail, but they do share our interest in habitat protection, wildlife abundance and new outdoor opportunities.

At the same time, hunting needs a public relations strategy, but it will take more than a once-a-year celebration of our heritage. And it will require more than just a few hunting groups waxing poetic to the already converted about the benefits of the hunting way of life. All hunters have a responsibility to reflect upon their own hunting image, and how that personal reputation is perceived in the circles they travel, and how it contributes to the public’s overall perception of hunting.

It’s up to each of us to show that hunting isn’t just our heritage—it’s endlessly relevant for all Canadians.

And the time to start is now. OC

WORKING TOGETHER Above all else, we hunters must continue to celebrate our leading role in wildlife

EASTERN VIEW IS AN OPINION COLUMN. WE INVITE CONSTRUCTIVE DISCUSSION OF THE VARIOUS ISSUES RAISED HERE.

JOURNAL DOG SENSE HAPPY TRAILS

During the late season, bird hunters sometimes travel with their dogs in search of new hunting opportunities. They’ll even go so far as to drive across international borders. Here are some travel tips to help you and your pup become kings of the road.

YOUNG RECRUITS

MEGAN MAGRO AIMS TO GROW THE FIREARMS COMMUNITY

A SURFIRE APPROACH TO BUILDING INTEREST IN THE SHOOTING SPORTS

BY BOB SEXTON

M

EGAN MAGRO GOT her first taste of the shooting sports during childhood visits to her grandfather in Wales, where he would take her pheasant hunting. It wasn’t until she was attending the University of Ottawa in 2020, however, that her interest in sport shooting really took off after she started volunteering with the Canadian University Shooting Federation (CUSF).

Three years later, the 25-year-old is now the non-profit’s executive director, and it’s her mission to bring more young Canadians into the fold. “We really believe young people are the future of the firearms community and shooting sports in Canada,” Magro says. “We want to keep the sport growing into an activity that everybody can enjoy.” Here are three key areas the CUSF focusses on, as should anyone encouraging young people to get involved in the shooting sports.

SAFETY One of the biggest misconceptions about sport shooting is that it’s dangerous, Magro says. “You’re not going to show up at one of our events and be given a gun and told to just go for it,” she adds, noting that first-timers instead get a full orientation from a qualified shooting coach or instructor, or range safety officer. “You’re going to first learn the different parts of a gun and how to pick one up. You’re not going to be going off on your own. You shoot under direct supervision.”

BENEFITS According to Magro, sport shooting is appealing because it gives

like-minded people the chance to connect while they develop their unique new skill set. To that end, the CUSF has several different leagues and competitions, ranging from trap and skeet to target shooting. Herself a turkey and waterfowl hunter, Magro adds that competitive shooting doubly serves as a stepping stone to get into hunting. It’s also a great way to unwind, she says, and become more open-minded. “Shooting a round of trap helps me destress and feel better.

It has also helped by giving me a different outlook on life, and to see a different perspective on things. It’s helped me listen to what people have to say before I go and judge them about it, because I know how it feels when somebody starts judging me about my sport.”

ACCESSIBILITY Currently, the CUSF has approximately 400 members in 25 different chapters at colleges and universities across Canada, providing plenty of entry points for interested students and alumni. And it’s always looking to grow, Magro says, offering funding to help start new clubs. As well, the CUSF provides new members with rebates on the cost of their firearms licence. “That’s been a super-successful program,” she says. “If the ultimate goal is to grow the shootVISIT WWW.CUSF.CA TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CANADIAN UNIVERSITY ing community, we need to get licences SHOOTING FEDERATION. in the hands of young people.” OC

8

16 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER /DECEMBER 2023 ]

PREPARATION If you head south of the border, remember that completing the necessary paperwork requires time, so get it done well in advance. For your dog, current vaccination records are a must. Also, dog food restrictions are sometimes in place to prevent the spread of livestock diseases. A sudden switch in diet can upset a dog’s digestive system, throwing him off his game. So, if a change is needed, switch foods a few weeks before your trip.

MEDICAL HELP Make sure you have the emergency contact information for a vet in the area where you’ll be hunting, in case of an accident in the field. Also, carry a well-stocked dog first-aid kit to handle any minor injuries.

MOTION SICKNESS As with people, dogs can also get carsick, especially on long drives. As a precaution, avoid feeding your dog before heading out. Also, learn to recognize the early warning signs of motion sickness, such as yawning, drooling and whining, so that you can pull over before things get worse.

SAFETY If you let your dog sit by your side in a vehicle, use a dog-specific seatbelt harness; it allows for some freedom of movement, but prevents the dog from getting thrown from the vehicle in the event of an accident. For maximum protection on the road, I recommend keeping your dog in a modern, rotomoulded kennel.

COMFORT Dogs thrive on routine, so long vehicle rides and strange motel rooms can cause stress, which in turn may lead to appetite loss and poor performance in the field. To help avoid this, bring along your dog’s favourite blanket or chew toy, and keep the kennel in your room to provide a cozy, secure place that feels like home.

—LOWELL STRAUSS

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FOR THE BEST TIMES TO FISH AND HUNT, CONSULT OUR SOLUNAR CHARTS AT WWW. OUTDOORCANADA.CA/TIMES.

MEGAN MAGRO (MAGRO); RUFFLAND PERFORMANCE KENNELS (DOG)

FIELD GUIDE

T A B L E FA R E

BRAISED CARIBOU A FULL-BODIED STEW CRADLED ON A BED OF CREAMY POLENTA RECIPE & PHOTO BY CAMERON TAIT

L

EAN AND LOADED with protein, caribou has a delicate flavour compared with many other game meats. Incredibly versatile, it can be grilled, roasted, brined, smoked or stewed, as is the case with this hearty recipe. If possible, choose a small roast from the shoulder or rump, which will make for a tastier, full-bodied stew.

Paired with rustic Italian polenta instead of the mainstay potato variety, this dish is bound to become yet another all-time favourite in your household. Serves 4

1] Season the caribou with salt and pepper, then sear in a hot pan using the olive oil. Move to a heavybottomed pot and blend in the remaining ingredients (excluding polenta). Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cover with a lid.

Simmer for 2 hours or until the meat is tender.

2] For the polenta, heat the water/ stock, milk and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cornmeal, then switch to low heat and cover, stirring every 5 minutes.

3] After 30 minutes, check to ensure the polenta has a smooth consistency, then season with the salt, pepper, Parmesan and parsley.

4] Spoon the polenta into individual bowls, ladle the caribou stew on top and serve. OC

FOR THE GLASS This full-bodied Cabernet-Merlot blend from the Similkameen Valley, B.C.’s Sandhill winery features a wonderful bouquet of black currant and blackberry, with notes of vanilla and roasted coffee bean—the perfect accompaniment for this savoury caribou dish.

• 3 lb diced caribou • Kosher salt and pepper, to taste • 3 tbsp olive oil • 1 cup red wine • 3 cups beef stock • 2 tbsp tomato paste • 1 cup chanterelle mushrooms • 5 peeled shallots, halved • 3 carrots, sliced • 3 cloves garlic, chopped • 3 tbsp flour

POLENTA • 2 cups water or chicken stock • 2 cups milk • 3 tbsp butter • 1 cup yellow cornmeal • Kosher salt and pepper, to taste • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese • 1 tbsp chopped parsley

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TO WATCH CAMERON TAIT PREPARE HIS VARIOUS DISHES, GO TO WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA/FOOD.

W W W . O U T D O O R C A N A D A . C A | 17

JOURNAL balance between Old- and NewWorld styling.

Mechanically, the Quad sports a cold-hammer-forged, free-floated barrel with iron sights, and a singlestage adjustable trigger (two to four pounds). It also has a single extractor claw, with ejection provided by a spring clip in the left inner-bolt raceway. Both the barrel and receiver are steel matte blued, while the twoposition safety locks the bolt shut when in the safe position. On top of it all, the rifle is guaranteed to shoot one-inch groups at 100 yards.

FIREARMS REVIEW

ROBUST RIMFIRE

THE BURRIS SCOPE WAS AN IDEAL MATCH

SAKO’S QUAD HUNTER PRO FEELS LIKE A TRADITIONAL BIG-GAME RIFLE

BY MARK HOFFMAN

I

’VE HAD A lifelong affinity for rimfire rifles. To this day, they remain my

favourite chamberings. My reasoning begins with the high cost of centrefire ammunition, as rimfires remain considerably less expensive to shoot. They also offer an ideal way to hone your shooting skills, and they’re pleasantly fun to hunt and shoot with. And with the right ammunition, some are exceedingly accurate—here I’m talking about half-inch, 100-yard groups of not just three shots or five shots, but 10. That’s simply outstanding performance.

Worldwide, more rimfire ammo is sold than all other chamberings. The lion’s share of sales belongs to the most popular rimfire, the .22 LR, but for those who seek a bit more down-range punch, the various .17 chamberings fill that niche very nicely. I have either owned or tested every commercially made .17 chambering.

In 2020, one of my tests included Tikka’s first rimfire, the T1x MTR, the company cousin of the bolt-action Sako Quad Hunter Pro. The Tikka shot well, so I wondered how the pricier Quad would stack up against it in an accuracy shoot-out. While such a comparison was a contributing factor in my decision to test the Quad, my interest in the rifle’s centrefire-like design and interchangeable barrels closed the deal.

The swap-barrel concept behind the Quad, which is chambered in .17 HMR, .17 Mach, .22 LR, and the .22 WMR., is intriguing. It allows the shooter to choose from among four different interchangeable barrels, colour-coded with their matching magazines to ensure the correct pairing. The change-up takes but a few seconds. You simply loosen the barrel with the provided tool, then tilt it upwards while pulling it out of the action; simply reverse the process to put another barrel in place. I’m not aware of any other commercial firearms manufacturer that offers this combination of interchangeable rimfire barrels.

Just as conceptually important is the design of the rifle, which is built to look and feel like a traditional Sako hunting rifle—the ideal solution for hunters wanting to maintain or improve their shooting skills with a rimfire that looks and feels like their big-game rifle. This is primarily due to the Quad Hunter Pro’s full-sized high-grade walnut stock, which resembles the renowned Sako 75. It’s finished in an oiled brown, and its laser-cut checkering offers a fine

18 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER /DECEMBER 2023 ]

MARK HOFFMAN (SHOOTER, TARGET); SAKO (RIFLE); BURRIS (SCOPE); KEN BAILEY (PHEASANTS); ALEX THERRIEN (MUSKOX)

TEST RESULTS

My test model Quad Hunter Pro in .17 HMR fit and balanced so much like a centrefire you could easily conclude it was indeed a centrefire, if you weren’t aware of its chambering. Another salient contributor to this assumption was the combined weight of the rifle and scope; at seven pounds 12 ounces, it was on par with many present-day scoped centrefires.

Initially, I was concerned about the potential for scope-sight image interference from the large, hooded front iron sight. After a few rounds, this issue evaporated, as nary a sight picture showed any interference. One other initial concern was the stickiness of the bolt when compared to Sako’s ultra-smooth centrefire rifles.

After applying a bit of Breakthrough Battle Born HP Pro lubricant and some studious manipulation of the bolt, that issue also disappeared.

Meanwhile, the fit was superb and, while the stock lacked figure, it still held its own with its fine finish and checkering. And the trigger, with its no-creep or over-travel, worked as expected for a Sako, breaking consistently at three pounds eight ounces.

My test model came equipped with a Burris Signature HD 3-15x44 scope; I liked the push-pull locking turrets and, while this was not a $2,000 scope, the parallax adjustability and lenses provided very crisp images at both 50 and 100 yards (for more on the scope, see next page).

On the range, I duplicated my previous Tikka test with five-shot 50-yard and three-shot 100-yard groups. I varied it slightly with the Quad, however, by selecting the two most accurate 50-yard performers

and the highest-velocity ammo as the third component tested at 100 yards.

My original intention was to compare the load-to-load accuracy of the two rifles. Unfortunately, the load-specific accuracy varied sufficiently enough between the two rifles that I dropped that approach and instead tallied the total group size average at 50 and 100 yards. Both offered outstanding accuracy. But the Quad, with a 50-yard average of 0.426 and a 100-yard average of 0.461, bettered the Tikka’s 50-yard average of 0.457 and 100-yard average of 0.477 by only a slight margin.

One other result that favoured the Quad was that seven out of the eight 50-yard groups bettered 0.500, while only six out of 10 bettered that mark with the Tikka. Also notable was the 0.212 100-yard, three-shot group (pictured, left) delivered by the Quad with CCI ammo. That’s nothing short of outstanding accuracy.

In the end, the difference in performance between the two rifles was so slight that choosing between them would come down to a matter of per-

THE SIGNATURE HD 3-15X44

With its side parallax adjustability from 25 yards to infinity, the Burris Signature HD 3-15x44 scope makes an ideal rimfire match. This adjustability affords the rimfire hunter or shooter precise point-of-aim and imaging from as close as 25 yards, right out to maximum rimfire range.

The scope is built on a one-inch tube that is nitrogen filled for waterproof, fogproof and shockproof performance. The premium glass is multi-coated for crisp, bright images, and the versatile 5x zoom provides a large field of view for

sonal preference. If you’re looking for an accurate rimfire that wears a centrefire platform, however, the Sako Quad Hunter Pro is your answer—especially since it offers the option of interchangeability among four different rimfire barrels.

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FOR THE COMPLETE TEST RESULTS, GO TO WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA/QUADTEST.

THE RIFLE SPECS

G E TA W AY S BOW RIVER VALLEY

As the fall upland birdhunting season progresses, ringnecked pheasants congregate in thick cover along the shoreline of Alberta’s Bow River, especially within dense shrubs and grasses close to floodplain cultivation.

It takes persistent dog work to root ringnecks out of this habitat, but the rewards in roosters are well worth the effort. The Alberta Professional Outfitters Society can help arrange a hunt. www.apos.ab.ca —KEN BAILEY

• Calibre: .17 HMR • Total length: 40.35″ • Weight: 6.17 lb • Barrel length: 22″ • Twist rate: 1 in 9″ • Length of pull: 13.5″ • Magazine capacity: 5+1 • Drop at heel: n/a • Drop at comb: n/a

close ranges and improved target acquisition at longer distances.

The scope also includes precise machining, zero-click stop on all target turrets, and push/pull locking turrets with locking caps to prevent accidental movement or loss of zero.

Additionally, the zero reset means you never have to worry about being lost on the dials. This scope comes with a choice of two reticles, either a Burris Plex, as with my test scope, or a Ballistic E3 reticle. It also comes with the Burris Forever Warranty. OC

THE SCOPE SPECS • Magnification: 3-15x • Length: 13.2″ • Weight: 20 oz • Tube size: 1″ • Objective lens: 44mm • Eye relief: 3.5″ to 3.8″ • Field of view: 37.5′ to 7.5′ • Elevation & windage adjustment: 80 MOA

• Parallax adjustment: 25 yards to infinity

AYLMER LAKE

In recent years, the wilderness around the N.W.T’s Aylmer Lake has emerged as one of the world’s premier destinations for muskox hunting, with the current world record shot there in 2020 (pictured). And almost every animal taken last year met the Boone and Crockett Club’s record book requirements. Aylmer Lake Lodge offers fall and early-spring muskox hunts, as well as wolf and wolverine hunts. www.aylmerlakelodge.com —KEN BAILEY NORTHERN ONTARIO

Snaring snowshoe hares in northern Ontario’s winter wilderness is a doubly rewarding experience—you get to spend a day in the fresh, crisp air, then head home with the ingredients for a fabulous Hasenpfeffer stew. And as a bonus, you can make exquisite trout flies with the hair from between the hare’s toes. All you need is some brass wire, flagging tape and a small-game hunting licence. www.outdoorcanada.ca/snaring —GORD PYZER

W W W. O U T D O O R C A N A D A . C A | 19

JOURNAL BIG HOLE KILL KIT (US$100)

THE GOODS

Viam Outdoors, www.viamoutdoors.com Key features: Includes three light, reusable game bags, backpack meat transporter, 60 feet of paracord, flagging tape and three pairs of nitrile gloves.

The promise: “Everything you need to take care of your game.”

PREP TIME HANDY NEW GEAR FOR PROCESSING AND PRESERVING WILD FISH AND GAME

BY THE EDITORS

D

ELICIOUS AND HEALTHY, both game meat and wild fish are precious commodities, especially given the time, money and effort we put into bringing them home. That’s why it’s so important to quickly, yet carefully process and preserve our harvest to get it to the table, fridge or freezer in the best condition possible.

These accessories are designed to help do just that.

SWINGBLADE PAK (US$89.99)

Outdoor edge, www.outdooredge.com Key features: Knife switches from a drop-point skinner to a gutting blade with the push of a button; separate six-inch T-handle saw for bone or wood; grippy rubberized handles. The promise: “The ultimate hunter’s combo set.”

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RECHARGEABLE DC ELECTRIC KNIFE SHARPENER (US$99)

WHY DO WE SOMETIMES SHOW U.S. PRICES? FIND OUT WHY AT WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA/COST.

Chef’s Choice by EdgeCraft, www.chefschoice.com Key features: Portable two-stage sharpener with 100 per cent diamond abrasives; applies a doublebevel edge to straight or serrated knives; rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The promise: “Compact, cordless sharpening.”

ELECTRIC MEAT GRINDER ($264.99)

VS-12 DELUXE VACUUM SEALER (US$149.99) Nesco, www.nesco.com

Key features: Variable settings and multiple sealing choices; optional double seals for added strength; includes two bag rolls; compatible with any brand of sealer bags. The promise: “Versatility and performance.”

Paderno, www.paderno.com Key features: Powerful 400-watt motor; three interchangeable carbonsteel plates for coarse to fine grind; two sausage cone attachments; reverse pulse for removing clogs.

The promise: “Powerful, durable and easy to use.”

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N E W & N OT E W O RT HY SILVER SERIES

JERKY CANNON (US$59.99)

LEM Products, www.lemproducts.com Key features: Holds 1½ pounds of ground meat; flared anodized aluminum barrel for easy loading; includes stainless steel nozzles for shaping flat or round jerky. The promise: “A dream come true for jerky lovers.”

Designed for taking down North America’s toughest big game, Browning’s Silver Series rounds ($33.99 to $51.99 per box of 20) come equipped with heavy-for-calibre soft-point bullets with precision-plated jackets. They’re available in 10 popular calibres, including relative newcomers .350 Legend and 6.8 Western. Browning Ammunition, www.browningammo.com ELK TRACKER

PRECISION PORT HANDHELD VACUUM SEALER (US$69.99)

Anova Applied Electronics, www.anovaculinary.com Key features: Compact, cordless sealer for Anova’s Precison Port reusable bags (10 are included); seals 150 bags on a single USB charge. The promise: “Seal, open and reseal bags as many times as needed.”

Irish Setter has beefed up its Elk Tracker hunting boots, making them even more rugged while maintaining the legendary comfort. Available in insulated and non-insulated styles, Elk Tracker XD boots (US$249.99 to US$259.99) sport full leather uppers, Vibram rubber outsoles, cushioned tongues and a snug fit for the toughest hunts. Irish Setter, www.irishsetterboots.com A22 TAKEDOWN

SYK FILLET KNIFE (US$29.99/$34.99) LITHIUM ION ELECTRIC FILLET KNIFE (US$89.99)

LRP S3

Long-range hunters will want to check out the Zeiss LRP S3 425-50 riflescope (US$2,299.99). This first focal plane scope offers a large field of view, 4-25x magnification and an illuminated reticle for honing in on both medium- and longrange targets. It also boasts best-inclass total elevation travel (160 MOA or 46.5 MRAD). Zeiss, www.zeiss.com

MANUFACTURERS

Old Timer, www.theoldtimer.com Key features: Eight-inch blade; powered by a 7.2-volt, lithuium-ion rechargeable battery; ergonomic grip trigger and handle; includes carrying case. The promise: “Make quick work of your catch.”

True Tools & Blades, www.true.acgbrands.com Key features: Medium-flex, fulltang, carbon steel blade; finished in high-vis Cerakote; textured non-slip handle; plastic sheath; comes in seven and nine-inch models. The promise: “Suitable for fresh- and saltwater use.” OC

Touted as a “go-anywhere rimfire rifle,” Savage’s semiauto A22 Takedown (US$479) disassembles with ease to fit in a backpack. Weighing just 2.86 kilos, it features an adjustable AccuTrigger, Picatinny rail, 18-inch carbon steel barrel and adjustable synthetic stock. It even has storage space in the pistol grip and buttstock. Savage Arms, www.savagearms.com

W W W.O U T D O O R C A N A DA .C A | 21

FA I R G A M E BY GEORGE GRUENEFELD STEPHAN LUKACIC BYBY GEORGE GRUENEFELD

heart-healthy, densely packed with nutrients, and even lower in saturated fats than salmon. In other words, venison puts the most popular massproduced meats to shame in nearly every metric that counts as part of a healthy, balanced diet. And when processed, aged and cooked properly, it’s delicious. Big racks and personal bests are exciting, but as anyone who harvests their own food knows, the meals are the real trophies.

Fine dining

IT’S TOUGH TO TOP FOOD FROM AFIELD

MAKING THE CASE FOR THE BENEFITS OF EATING WILD FISH AND GAME

H

AVE YOU EVER had an awkward conversation about eating wild fish or game with someone who’s never even tried it? The ever-widening gap between people and the source of their food is the root of this problem. If food doesn’t come wrapped in plastic with a barcode on it, most people have been conditioned to not only mistrust it, but to also be wilfully ignorant of its origin.

The busy modern world is so disconnected from the realities of nature that the very idea of killing to eat can be shocking to many.

I have these exchanges constantly online, and often in person. When you post as much hunting and fishing content as I do, you’re bound to run into a few naysayers. I’ve found that most people are simply uninformed, however, and their objections to harvesting wildlife come from good intentions. So, I try to use these encounters as an opportunity to put better information out there— something all anglers and hunters should strive to do.

THE HEALTH ASPECT

There’s a widespread myth that mass-produced foods are somehow better, safer and tastier than wild foods, when nothing could be further from the truth.

Michelin-Starred chefs would practically fist fight each other for the delicious, organic, free-range, locally harvested delicacies in my pantry and freezer. The ingredients we bring home from our Canadian lakes and forests are some of the best you can get anywhere. (Some of my culinary creations are pictured above.)

Simply put, unadulterated wild foods are superior in flavour and quality compared to much of what’s sold at supermarkets. They’re also much better for your health, beautifully free of all the hormones, steroids, antibiotics, fillers, preservatives and other chemicals found in store-bought foods, including plant-based products. I hunt, fish and forage for the exact same reasons I grow more than 1,000 pounds of organic food in my vegetable gardens every year—you just can’t beat the quality, nutritional density, freshness or flavour. And you know exactly where it came from.

The white-tailed deer I aim to shoot and butcher every fall is a great example.

Venison is not only richer in protein than any other red meat, it’s also lean and 2 2 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 ]

ONTARIO’S STEPHAN LUKACIC GETS MUCH OF HIS FOOD FROM THE WILD.

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

STEPHAN LUKACIC

THE ETHICAL QUESTION

When people raise moral objections to hunting for food, it’s worth pointing out that the forest is as ruthless as it is beautiful. It’s not a Disney cartoon out there. Any wild ungulate is only ever a single bad winter away from death by starvation, being torn apart by a predator or dying slowly from disease or illness. I’ve found that most people don’t know this simple truth.

I’m not suggesting hunters are doing deer any favours by shooting them, but I take some comfort in knowing which way I’d choose to go out if given the choice. Deer typically live a largely undisturbed and healthy life in the familiar environment they’ve evolved to occupy—right up until the shot rings out or the arrow hits home. An animal raised into industrial captivity isn’t so lucky.

I’ll spare you the upsetting details of how factory-farmed animals live and die, but suffice it to say a hunterharvested deer exits this world with relatively little suffering and a lot more dignity. If you care about the treatment of animals and eat meat, there’s no better way to do it ethically than to become a skilled and efficient hunter.

Then there are the damaging environmental consequences wrought by the industrial food systems that keep people in beef or veggie burgers.

Compare the minuscule ecological impact of a hunter-harvested deer with the mammoth carbon footprint required to bring a single steer to market—or the equivalent weight in plant-based products. That alone wins the argument for eating wild fish and game. OC

O N T H E W AT E R

BY GORD PYZER

BOOST YOUR CATCH RATE BY FISHING STRATEGICALLY WITH A PARTNER

P

LAN IT PROPERLY, and the more anglers you have in the boat, the more fish you’re likely to catch—if you work together on your strategy and pay close attention to the details, that is. To start, the most important thing you need to determine is what depth the fish are at. Remember, if you’re fishing at the wrong depth, even on the best spot in the lake, you’re not going to get bit.

For example, imagine throwing a topwater for smallmouth bass when they’re gorging on gobies or crayfish crawling across the bottom in 20 feet of water.

They’re not going to come up to eat.

Once your sonar confirms what depth the fish are at, the second most important detail is the speed of your retrieve. Do those goby-crunching bass want your bait delivered quickly, slowly or somewhere in between? Do they lash out and strike when it pops up and falls down, swims slowly horizontally or lies perfectly still on the bottom?

Working as a team, two or more anglers can answer those questions in a fraction of the time it would take if you were fishing solo. The same goes when it comes to determining the size, shape and colour of lure the fish prefer. Here’s how I work with a partner to figure out and refine a winning pattern.

OFFER UP OPTIONS Whenever I’m fishing with my grandson Liam, we always start the day by using contrasting tactics. Typically, one of us casts a topwater or sub-surface jerkbaitstyle lure while the other scours the bottom. As well, one of us fishes quickly, while the other fishes slowly.

Being young and aggressive, Liam is always eager to fish fast presentations, such as tail spinners, jerkbaits, bucktails and cranks. I love the finesse game, on the other hand, until I once again prove to myself that it’s possible to go too slow, too low and too small. Eventually, we meet somewhere in the middle. In the case of bass on the bottom, for example, we might end up both pitching Ned Rigs, drop-shotting the same coloured soft-plastics or swimming siliconeskirted jigs dressed with pulsating grubs.

TWEAK WHAT WORKS Once we know what the fish want, we take things up a notch and fine-tune our presentation even more, often surprising ourselves in the process. For example, I might choose the pointed end of a four-inch soft-plastic worm to adorn my 24 | O U T D O O R C A N A D A [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R

2023 ]

FOR FISHING EDITOR GORD PYZER’S ROUNDUP OF UNCONVENTIONAL PRO FISHING TACTICS, SEE PAGE 40.

ALONE TIME Whenever you’re fishing solo, don’t let that stop you from tag-teaming—you just have to be your own partner, so to speak.

In my case, I typically keep up to eight rods on deck, each rigged with different presentations for myself and my alter egos. Then I’ll sort through the depth, speed and other considerations as though my partner were right beside me.

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

GORD PYZER

Team approach

USE DIFFERENT TACTICS TO LEARN WHAT WORKS

Ned jig, while Liam opts instead to pin the bulbous end to his jig. Some days he’ll cream me; some days it’s the other way around.

It’s also at this stage that we tag team back and forth, rotating through different colour options.

One afternoon this past summer, for example, we figured out the muskies wanted us to burn Super Shad Raps at warp speed about four feet under the surface, then stop reeling to let the lures rise up before putting the pedal to the metal once again. Doing that, we were able to raise some quality fish. Then Liam switched over to his favourite colour—bright Firetiger perch—and you’d have thought he’d flicked a switch. The big toothy predators began savagely slashing at his bait, while continuing to only follow my cisco-coloured lure through lazy figure eights.

Another thing that tag-teaming has taught Liam and me about fishing for apex predators is that you must keep switching things up.

When we’re fishing for walleye, bass, crappies and yellow perch, we can confidently keep using the same presentation once we’ve determined the proper depth, retrieval speed and size, shape and colour of our baits. But when we’re fishing for muskies, pike and often lake trout, one of us needs to keep looking around the corner for whatever better pattern is evolving. I think muskies, in particular, get quickly conditioned to avoiding certain baits once they’ve seen them a few times. That means you have to rotate through the line-up to continually show them something different.

Over to you, partner. OC

REVOLUTIONARY SONAR FOR WHEREVER YOU FISH

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“I love the versatility of Deeper sonar because you can use it anywhere, anytime and any season,” Canadian PRO angler Ryan Pizzacalla said. “The Deeper CHIRP+2 is super lightweight, small and connects to your phone. I don’t leave the house without it.”

Ryan has been using Deeper products for years and it’s the first sonar he ever purchased. Unlike other traditional sonars, Deeper CHIRP+2 uses the angler’s smartphone to produce GPS mapping and sonar imagery. Deeper sonar connects to a smartphone via Wi-Fi, ensuring a strong connection without utilizing the internet and additional fees. Scans from the sonar are saved to the cloud.

“I love the versatility of Deeper sonar,” Ryan went on. “I have mine attached to my kayak and it has helped me catch some of my biggest fish to date.”

This year, Ryan caught his personal best smallmouth utilizing Deeper CHIRP+2 sonar. “I was kayak fishing a new body of water scanning for structure and bass with CHIRP sonar when I made the cast that caught the smallmouth,” Ryan said. “The smallmouth bass were migrating back to deeper water habitat after spawning. It’s the time of year when sonar really comes into play and without

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they can mount their smartphone to their fishing rod using the Deeper Smartphone Mount, keeping their hands free to cast and reel. The mount also ensures a stable connection, and keeps the smartphone close to the user’s fingers for controlling the screen features within the Fish Deeper App.

Ice anglers are finding the cable-free Deeper sonar perfect when fishing. It’s impossible not to get excited when you see a fish bite your lure on your smartphone; plus, the Lo-Ion battery lasts up to 15 hours for more fishing time. An accessory most ice anglers like is the splash-proof Deeper Winter Smartphone Case. It insulates your smartphone while preserving your smartphone battery.

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F LY F I S H I N G BY

BY SCOTT SCOTT GARDNER GARDNER

technique will catch fish, but those times are very rare. If you’re trying— and failing—to do something complicated such as dead-drift nymphing or casting into a stiff wind, just stop.

While you’re taking a break, rethink the situation and find a different, preferably easier approach. Maybe forget about matching the hatch, and just tie on one of your confidence flies. Or bust out a tried-and-true Fly Fishing 101 technique. Mine is the wet fly swing, a simple tactic that’s been catching fish all over the world for 200 years. It’s not glamourous, but it works, and it’s hard to screw up.

HAVING AN OFF-DAY OF FISHING? HERE’S HOW TO PUT YOUR MIND AT EASE

P

SYCHOLOGISTS HAVE LONG touted the mental-health benefits of fly fishing. Some see the repetitive back-and-forth motion of casting as a way to induce a transcendent, near-meditative state. Others say our intense focus on presenting and fishing the fly reduces stress by breaking the train of our everyday thoughts and worries. If you’ve spent any time fly fishing, you know all of this is very true—except when it’s not.

Fly fishing has a higher level of difficulty than other angling styles, and when everything is clicking, the highs are pretty high. The flipside is that when you’re fishing poorly, the lows are painfully low. And they come for all of us. We’ve all had those miserable days when we’re blowing casts and spooking fish, and everything we do seems to create an ever-worsening muddle.

When you get the fly-fishing yips, instead of despairing—or, heaven forbid, taking up golf—remember the eternal sporting wisdom of Yogi Berra. As with baseball, fly fishing is 90 per cent mental; the other half is physical. When you’re having a rough day, here are a few tips to get your mental game back on track.

TAKE A BREAK I’ve found myself unable to execute basic fly-fishing skills—ones I knew I possessed—on rivers, lakes and ocean flats all over North and Central America.

It’s sort of impressive, in an embarrassing way. In the past, I responded with a ride-or-die mentality, pushing myself to fish even harder. It never worked. Now when I feel things going sideways, I reel up my line and simply sit down on the bank or in the boat. A 10-, 20- or even 30-minute break is good for your shoulder, but even better for your mind.

With fly casts, keep in mind that quality is usually better than quantity. So, rest up, then make better ones. While you’re at it, have a snack and a drink. My better half is a mental-health professional, and one of her mantras for clients is, “Food controls mood.” Denying your physical needs doesn’t just make you tired and shaky, it can also make you cranky and depressed.

CHANGE YOUR TACTICS Sometimes when you’re fly fishing, only one specific

8

FOR MORE ON FLY FISHING AND MENTAL HEALTH, VISIT WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA/FLYTHERAPY.

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SMELL THE ROSES There are things I’d rather do than fly fishing, but it’s a very, very short list—mostly it involves holding an oversized novelty cheque in the provincial lottery office. So ultimately, the one thing that always makes a rough day of fishing better is to simply appreciate what I’m doing, and where I’m doing it. That includes the sights and sounds of the water and wildlife, embracing the solitude or the companionship, and recognizing the extremely good fortune that lets me spend time outdoors in such a place.

The day that doesn’t fix what’s ailing me, is the day I’ll hang up my waders for good—or be buried in them. OC ASSOCIATE EDITOR SCOTT GARDNER IS OFTEN AT ONE WITH THE WATER.

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

SCOTT GARDNER

Water therapy

A SHORT BREAK CAN PUT A SMILE BACK ON YOUR FACE

SHORTEN YOUR CASTS If you have a decent grasp of flycasting fundamentals, but your casting is going to pieces, you can often get back on track by making shorter casts. First, forget about actually fishing for a few minutes. Reel up all but 25 feet of line, then start casting, landing and picking up the shorter line. Watch your backcast, wait until you feel the tug of the line as it straightens behind you, then accelerate forward. Feel the rhythm and reacquaint yourself with the fundamentals. Remember that casting is fun, and it feels good. When you’re ready to fish again, stick with the shorter line. That may mean repositioning or moving, but there’s also a lot of water close to us we tend to overlook. Focus on your short game, and save the Hail Mary casts for later.

13

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BOWHUNTING

BY BRAD FENSON

fewer animals jumping the string. If possible, use a decibel meter at the range to gain insight into how much noise your bow actually makes. Overall, the more weight you add to a projectile, the quieter your bow becomes.

TO HELP ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL HUNT, KNOW YOUR GEAR INSIDE OUT

J

UST LIKE CLOCKMAKERS who can fine-tune a clock to make it keep perfect time, hunters who know their bow from A to Z can get the most out of it in the field. Indeed, a bowhunter who understands how bow speed, arrow trajectory, noise and subtle equipment changes can make a difference will have a decided edge. So, what’s the best way to learn everything about your bow?

Plenty of practice. Here’s what to pay close attention if you want to increase your chances of hunting success.

SPEED Do you know the speed of your bow? Most archers are familiar with the IBO rating, the speed standard developed by the International Bowhunting Organization. Without getting too technical, the IBO system measures how fast different bows can shoot an arrow using the exact same pull weight, arrow weight and draw length. Unless your bow is set up with those same IBO parameters, however, it’s tough to know how fast it’s actually shooting. To find out, you need to shoot through a chronograph designed specifically to measure bullet and arrow speeds (pictured above).

SIGHTS Changes in projectile and draw weights can have an impact on your sight. How much tuning is required to account for changes in speed and trajectory? In most cases, not much.

The best way to know is to play with the equipment. For shots under 30 metres, very little change is required in sight-pin adjustment. In some cases, though, it can mean using a pin’s top or bottom edge to stay on target. A single pin sight can have multiple tapes at the ready for maintaining accuracy; range time allows you to develop and catalogue the tapes.

TRAJECTORY The faster the bow, the flatter the arrow trajectory. So, knowing your bow’s speed gives you a baseline for experimenting with draw weights and combinations of arrow and broadhead weights to obtain the best performance under different circumstances. More speed and a flatter arrow trajectory with a lighter arrow may be ideal for a Western spot-and-stalk hunt, for example, but treestand hunters who shoot game at less than 30 yards could benefit from a heavy projectile to increase penetration.

It’s also worth knowing how much speed is lost by shooting a heavier projectile. Every bow is different, but knowing what’s gained or lost gives you the insight to make informed decisions for specific hunts and conditions.

To actually view and analyze the trajectory of your arrow, record a slowmotion video of the flight path using your smart phone. Use a lighted nock to help in the process. Knowing the arc of your arrow’s trajectory allows you to anticipate possible obstacles in its path during actual hunting scenarios.

FINE TUNING Getting to know your bow before the start of hunting season allows you to be flexible and fine-tune your equipment for any scenario once you’re finally afield. And the little things add up. For example, when there’s no wind in the forecast, there’s an immediate advantage if you know you can switch to a heavier projectile to reduce noise.

Knowing the various options makes for an informed approach to getting the most out of your equipment. and being more successful. So, get acquainted with every aspect of your bow, arrow, and broadhead, and explore the accessory options, and you’ll be well on your way to building a formula for success. OC

NOISE Hunters who prefer to shoot game at close range benefit from a quieter bow, with

BOWHUNTER BRAD FENSON ALWAYS STUDIES HIS BOWS’ CAPABILITIES.

28 | O U T D O O R CA N A DA [ N OV E M B E R /D EC E M B E R 2023 ]

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BRAD FENSON

Bow basics

USE A CHRONOGRAPH TO GAUGE YOUR BOW ‘S SPEED

DRAW WEIGHT When you practise, change your bow’s draw weight to see how the arrow speed is affected. A lighter draw weight is advantageous because it reduces the effort needed to draw, and the velocity change is minimal.

While it’s easy to pull a heavy draw weight early in the season when it’s warm and minimal clothing is required, a lower draw weight helps when it’s -35°C and you’re dressed like the Michelin Man.

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IN THE FIELD

BY KEN BAILEY

MAKING SENSE OF THE LATEST ADVANCES IN RIFLESCOPE TECHNOLOGY

I

F YOU’VE BEEN watching the riflescope market in recent years, you’ve un­doubtedly noticed the emergence of scopes touted as “first focal plane” as an option to the traditional “second focal plane” scopes. But what exactly do these terms mean, and should you be taking them into consideration if you’re buying a new scope?

It’s all about the lens on which the scope’s reticle is etched, relative to the zoom mechanism and magnifying lenses located in the middle of the scope, known as the erector lens system. If the reticle is etched on a lens in front of the erector system, it’s called a first, or front, focal plane (FFP) scope (“front” meaning nearest to the objective lens, at the end of the scope furthest from your eye). Alternatively, if the reticle is etched on a lens to the rear of the zoom mechanism, nearer to the ocular lens, it’s called a second, or rear, focal plane (SFP) scope.

The primary difference between the two is that with an FFP scope, the reticle changes in size as the magnification increases or decreases, always maintaining the same size in relation to the target image. On a SFP scope, which has been the industry standard for decades, the reticle stays the same size—as you increase or decrease the magnification the target image changes size, but the reticle doesn’t.

THE FFP ADVANTAGE I recently spoke with Vici Peters, Leupold’s Gold Ring Product Manager, about the differences. According to her, there’s been an increase in FFP sales, in part because younger shooters like more technical equipment. “They’re generally more accustomed to shooting with the scaled reticles common on FFP scopes that allow them to quickly adjust holdover or windage,” she says. “Many older hunters, meanwhile, still prefer SFP scopes and the simplicity of a standard duplex reticle.”

One of the great advantages of FFP riflescopes, Peters explains, is that the hash marks for making windage or holdover adjustments are accurate at any magnification. For example, a one MIL adjustment that equates to one yard at 1,000 yards holds true at any magnification. On a SFP scope, however, hash marks are only accurate at a single power setting, usually the highest power the scope is capable of. The use of laser rangefinders and ballistic turrets can overcome this deficiency, but it’s not as quick as an FFP scope when adjustments are needed.

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THE CASE FOR SFP As for choosing between the two scope options, it depends largely on how and where you’ll be hunting.

FFP riflescopes might be the best choice if you like newer technology, or if you shoot at long distances where quick follow-up shots using holdover or windage adjustments are more likely. While FFP scopes are fast becoming the norm among long-range target shooters, hunters should remember that at high magnifications, their target may be partly obscured. And at low magnifications, the reticle may be difficult to see under some conditions.

In my estimation, SFP riflescopes are likely to remain the standard among hunters for the foreseeable future. Their big advantage is that the reticle remains at a constant size, and it’s easily visible at every magnification. If your SFP reticle has hash marks, however, just keep in mind that they’re only accurate at maximum magnification. OC HUNTING EDITOR KEN BAILEY PAYS TRIBUTE TO WHITETAILS ON PAGE 48.

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

MARK RAYCROFT

Plane talk

KNOW THE PROS AND CONS OF SFP AND FFP SCOPES

THE FFP DRAWBACK When asked about the disadvantages of FFP scopes, Peters noted that as you increase the magnification, the reticle gets bigger and can partially cover your target, making precision aiming more difficult. This is particularly true with scopes with a high power range. To compensate, many manufacturers make the reticle crosswires very thin at the centre.

The problem with that is they can become nearly invisible at the lowest magnification settings, especially in low-light conditions or against wooded backgrounds. When considering any FFP scope with a zoom range in excess of 5x, Peters says to make sure the reticle is easily visible at the lowest power setting.

I’m admittedly a little old school when it comes to technology and hunting gear; in part, I worry the increased complexity translates to more things that can break down in the field. When I asked Peters about this, she said that while FFP scopes are a little more difficult to build— hence their higher price—they are as solid and reliable as SFP scopes.

©2023 O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc.

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THE OUTFITTER OPTION For the moose-hunting adventure of a lifetime, head into the wilds with a seasoned guide

MARK RAYCROFT

BY MARK RAYCROFT

32 | OUTDOOR CANADA

[ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

W

atching the sun crest the horizon, followed by a day of hiking to high points to glass and call. Immersing yourself in the sights, sounds and scents of the boreal forest that make up so much of this incredible country. The thrill when you first hear the grunts of an approaching bull. Many of us have been feeling a sense of post-pandemic wanderlust, with these unusual times reminding us to enjoy life now, and a moose hunt can offer just the solution.

Better yet, make that a guided moose hunt—especially if you want to venture to a part of Canada you’ve never experienced before. Why? For starters, it’s mandatory in many provinces and territories for non-resident hunters to be accompanied by a licensed guide. Hiring a local professional outfitter will also maximize your days afield, boost your odds of success and help with the heavy lifting once your moose is down.

More importantly, a guided moose hunt can be the adventure of a lifetime, offering many cherished memories, new friendships and enough meat to last a year. It can also be a significant investment, however, so selecting just the right outfitter is key to avoiding disappointment. Here are six pointers to help guarantee the bucket-list hunt of your dreams. »

A guided moose hunt can take you to places you've dreamed about

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA | 3 3

1. EXPECTATIONS & BUDGET GUIDED HUNTS ARE offered in virtually

every region of Canada where moose roam. The costs can vary considerably, ranging from approximately $5,000 to more than $20,000 for the outfitter portion, depending on the type of hunt you undertake, and where. For example, a hunt for an iconic Yukon giant will be considerably more expensive than a hunt in Newfoundland, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario or New Brunswick. Most eastern hunts are well under $10,000, with hunts in the northwest of the country typically costing more.

In matching your budget to your 34 | OUTDOOR CANADA

[ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

expectations, ask yourself some basic questions. What are your goals for the hunt? Are you craving a 50-inch wall-hanger, or are you fine with a younger animal to fill the freezer? What are you willing to spend, keeping in mind the total expenses will include the outfitter’s fee, travel costs, meat processing and shipping (including the antlers or entire head)? Then there’s the taxidermist, if you plan on keeping a trophy mount.

You should also expect to play gratuities. It’s commonplace for your guide and the camp cook to receive a tip that reflects their efforts. This is

MARK RAYCROFT

Settle on the comfort level you would prefer, whether it's staying at a cozy lodge or a spike camp

often factored into their anticipated pay for their time at camp. Tipping amounts vary depending on your experience, but ask the outfitter what is typical before signing up.

Finally, are you looking for a hunt based out of a comfortable lodge complete with a chef and all the creature comforts, or do you want more of a backcountry spike camp adventure? Are you up for hiking several kilometres a day, or would you prefer the ATV approach? Settling all these details upfront will streamline your initial planning.

Positive reviews are a good sign when selecting an outfitter for your dream moose hunt

KEY QUESTIONS ONCE YOU PINPOINTED

a prospective outfitter, follow-up with a phone call or email to ensure you have all the details you need to make an informed decision.

Here are some major points to cover.

1. How long have you been in operation?

2. How much is the hunt in Canadian dollars?

3. Does that price include the licence fee and taxes?

4. Do you do this full-time?

5. How many hunters are in camp each week?

6. What is the guide-to-hunter ratio?

7. How big is the area you hunt?

8. What does an average hunting day at your camp entail?

9. What are the success rates at your camp?

10. Does each hunter have his or her own room?

11. How much of a deposit is required?

12. How are the meat and antlers processed and shipped?

2. FINDING AN OUTFITTER THE BEST RESOURCE to begin the

search for your dream hunt is the internet. For starters, the website for the Canadian Federation of Outfitter Associations includes links to all provincial and territorial outfitter associations, except for Nova Scotia, Nunavut and P.E.I. (visit www. canada-outfitters.com). In turn, the

various association websites either have links to their member outfitters, or other contact information.

Of course, you can also conduct your own internet search, selecting key phrases and words such as “moose hunt,” “outfitter” and your desired province or territory. That should also offer up a variety of outfitter options. Look for well-maintained » W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA | 3 5

websites, complete with the current year’s information on rates and available dates, and a photo gallery featuring recent successes. This reveals the outfitter’s ongoing commitment to future clients. Some even include a sample itinerary of what a week spent with them would be like, as well as client testimonials.

Even if the website is current and informative, follow up with a phone call. A brief conversation should answer any outstanding questions you have, as well as give you a feel as to how the outfitter operates (see “Key questions" on the previous page).

Also ask for some client references.

You’ll likely get positive reviews from

the contacts they provide, but it’s still worth emailing or phoning recent clients to ask about their experience, and whether they’d return. You can also enter the outfitter’s name and “reviews” into your search engine to see if anything else pops up.

There are many quality outfitters out there, but it’s up to you to find the one that best meets your expectations and budget. Just be sure to do your research sooner rather than later, as many of the top outfitters are already booking a couple of years out, especially for the prime weeks.

The good news is, if they’re busy with bookings, they’re probably worth waiting for.

Proper apparel is key to a successful (and comfortable) hunt

Bill Sands and his daughter, Alyssa, continue to heal from the harm caused by the residential school system

3. WHEN TO GO WHAT ARE THE best weeks to be in

moose country? Most outfitters offer hunts beginning in early September through to mid- to late October. The first week of the hunt means the animals haven’t been pressured by hunters yet, so your calls may very well be the first of the year. That time can also be a bit early for calling, however, and warmer temperatures may

suppress moose activity. Hunters who head afield during the first week or two hope for cool nights and days; when the temperatures drop at night, the morning hunts should be decent.

Alternatively, the rut ramps up in mid-September, and if that coincides with frost, it can be a magical time to be in the moose woods. In this case, the choice weeks are from the third week of September through to mid-

36 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

The peak of the rut can be an excellent time to book a guided moose hunt

October. Those are the prime rutting weeks, but I’ve also had success later in the season. Check with potential outfitters about the prime times in their region.

PACKING LIST YOU CAN TYPICALLY count on your out-

fitter to bring adequate supplies for camp, but it’s always prudent to pack for any scenario. Here’s what I usually bring along, on both guided and selfguided hunts.

• Rifle • Comfortable rifle sling • Rifle barrel cleaner • Gun sock • 1½ boxes of cartridges

4. WHAT TO BRING A HOCKEY BAG with wheels is my go-to

luggage for my wilderness trips. The pliable, but durable material allows for flexibility when packing gear, and most bags can easily handle the 50-pound check-in capacity at the airport. They can also be compressed and stowed away when not in use.

(See “Packing list” for a suggested inventory of gear to bring along.)

When hunting the moose rut, you can encounter four seasons in one day, especially in the northern boreal regions of Canada. With that in

Make sure you're comfortable with making 200-yard shots before you head afield

mind, also bring a daypack to carry lightweight, breathable layers and a shell when you head out each morning. That way, you easily adjust to the weather conditions, keeping you comfortable enough to stay in the field all day long. (If your daypack is not equipped with a rain cover, also bring along a garbage bag to keep it dry.)

Proper apparel is important for a successful hunt, so also bring the following to camp: waterproof, lightweight raingear; insulated gloves and a windproof toque for cold weather; and insulated, waterproof, knee-high rubber boots. As well, it’s a good idea to pack spare merino wool underlayers and socks, and a backup breathable fleece layer.

(most regions recommend .270 calibre or larger, with a 180grain bullet) • Shooting stick • Knife • Two rechargeable, compact headlamps • Compass • Lighter and/or matches • Compact binoculars • Power bars • Packs of jerky • Toilet paper • One-litre water bottle • Water-filtration bags or straw • GPS unit or remote messaging device • White plastic bag (if the carcass is to be left overnight, tying a white bag to the antlers to flap in the breeze will help ward off scavengers) • Rubber gloves and a painter’s plastic drop sheet for field dressing • Sleeping bag (if staying at a base camp) • Camera (or smartphone for photos)

5. PERSONAL PREPARATION

MARK RAYCROFT

THE MORE PHYSICALLY fit you are, the

more likely you are to enjoy the hunt.

By being in the best shape possible, you will be able to embrace the experience to the fullest as you navigate the bogs and ridgelines of moose country. Fly-in hunts to remote access camps, in particular, typically require hunters to be in fairly good physical condition, as they’re likely to spend more time with boots on the ground hiking, calling and glassing.

With many fly-in camps, you can also expect to use small aluminum boats to efficiently access hunting areas. And in some regions, such as in the Yukon, hunters occasionally » WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA | 37

navigate moose country on horseback. For many, seeing the country this way is what it’s all about, but it may not be for you. Again, ask the outfitter what an average day would be like to make sure it’s the style of hunting you’re expecting.

Physical fitness aside, also ensure you’re confident in your rifle—and your shooting skills—out to at least 200 yards (although many shot opportunities at a twig-eater will likely be closer). And of course, if you have new hunting boots, be sure to break them in first before your adventure gets underway.

ARCHERY OPTION HOW DOES THE thought of calling in a

bull moose to within 40 yards sound?

The sight of those giant, solid-bone paddles on an eight-foot-tall, headtipping beast is sure to get the heart pumping at any range. But imagine the adrenaline rush of harvesting a bull up close with a bow—that requires nerves of steel and plenty of self-control. Some outfitters allow bowhunters access to their hunting area a week before the gun season opens, although archers can usually sign up for any week they want afterwards.

If bowhunting is your preference, just

keep in mind that getting into range for a shot will significantly up the ante.

Moose have an exceptional sense of smell, which should be obvious given the size of their snout, so wind direction is especially critical for archers. Still, successful hunts can, and do, happen.

And when they don’t, I’ve known some bowhunters to switch to a rifle during the final days of their hunt. That fallback strategy is always there for them.

It’s also worth noting that some regions allow hunting with crossbows, so check the local regulations or ask the outfitter if that’s your preference.

Seasoned moose-hunting guides have plenty of local knowledge

MOOSE-HUNTING GUIDES are their

own breed. These hardy individuals are willing to take strangers into the wilds of the North, sharing the land they love to pursue one of the largest wild beasts that roam the continent.

They’re willing to get dirty, sweaty, wet, bloody and exhausted to make your hunting dreams come true. And when sharing their countless enter-

taining tales, they can be a wealth of local moose-hunting history.

Indeed, the skills, knowledge and personality of your guide can make a huge difference to the outcome of your hunt. Just keep in mind, though, that you’re hunting on their home turf, a place where they’ve had a ton of experience over the years, so proper etiquette on your part can go

38 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

a long way. You’re there to enjoy the wonders of the region and the wildlife, and to learn from their experience. So be positive, outgoing and gracious. And above all, remember to have fun. OC CONTRIBUTOR MARK RAYCROFT HAS ENJOYED MANY GUIDED AND SELF-GUIDED MOOSE HUNTS.

MARK RAYCROFT

6. RESPECTING THE GUIDE

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RULE BREAKERS IT SOMETIMES PAYS BIG TO IGNORE TRIED-AND-TRUE TACTICS TO CATCH FISH, AS THESE TOP ANGLERS REVEAL

O

ONE HOT EVENING this past summer, I was casting for muskies at a favourite spot with my grandson, Liam Whetter, and our friend Jason Matity when out charged one of the biggest muskies I’ve ever seen. She was easily 54 inches long, and she had her nose planted right behind Liam’s glide bait. Liam performed a textbook figure-eight, picking up speed on the turn while twitching the bait, but the mammoth muskie sank out of sight.

The three of us frantically scanned the water to see where she went, while Liam hung his lure dead still, three feet down alongside the boat. That’s when we may well have heard the theme song from Jaws build to a crescendo as the muskie reappeared, opened her mouth and nipped the tail of the lure.

Although Liam performed another picture-perfect figure-eight to entice the muskie to keep chasing, she disappeared again. He managed to raise her a few more times, but she would only bump his bait every time he hung it motionless over the side of the boat.

That is not how you’re supposed to catch the fish of 10,000 casts when it’s hot on the heels of your lure. But this fish—like so many others—had clearly not read the rule book.

In the end, we didn’t catch that muskie, but we did learn a valuable lesson: sometimes you just have to forget everything you think you know about how, when and where to catch fish, and break the rules instead.

Just ask some of Canada’s most accomplished anglers.

Here are a few of the lessons they’ve learned, where experimentation or unorthodox tactics resulted in success. But first, let’s start with one of mine.

»

40 | O U T D O O R C A N A D A [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 ]

LIAM WHETTER

BY GORD PYZER

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GORD PYZER SAYS SNAGS CAN OFTEN LEAD TO BIG RESULTS (SEE NEXT PAGE)

W W W.O U T D O O R C A N A D A . C A | 41

+

GORD PYZER SAYS BASS WILL ALSO CHASE AN UNSNAGGED LURE; JUST BE SURE TO CHECK THE HOOKS AFTERWARDS (BELOW)

ANGLER: GORD PYZER MUSKIE (& SMALLMOUTH BASS)

»

TACTIC: GET HUNG UP ONE LATE-OCTOBER day, I was troll-

ing in the dark when I felt my lure smack into the face of a rock-wall structure and hang up in roughly 15 feet of water. I backed up the boat to get behind the lure, then yanked it free and started to reel it in to inspect the hooks. That’s when a behemoth muskie of worldrecord proportions swooped in like a fighter pilot, hammering the bait just as I lifted it out of the water.

Since that day, I’ve landed so many magnificent muskies after first getting snagged and popping

my lure free that I consider it one of the deadliest muskie-triggering tactics going. The fish will circle the trapped lure, watching it shake as you try to jerk it free; when it finally pops free and shoots up to the surface, it resembles a cisco, sucker or whitefish desperately fleeing for its life.

Whether I’m casting or trolling, it’s such a deadly tactic that I now get ready to figure-eight a pursuing predator every time I get snagged.

It’s so productive, in fact, I secretly hope someone in the boat gets

42 | O U T D O O R C A N A D A [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2023 ]

hung up, even when we’re using one-of-a-kind, handcrafted muskie lures costing $200 or more.

And as a bonus, the presentation also hoodwinks smallmouth bass.

I’ve regularly wedged my bass bait between a couple of rocks or buried the barbs into a submerged log, only to bow-and-arrow it free and feel a hefty bass pounce on it. I’ve even had bass attack my lure and liberate it for me as I was trying to wiggle it free.

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ANGLER: STU THOMPSON TROUT TACTIC: FEED ’EM POPPERS

»

GORD PYZER (PYZER, LURE CHECK); STU THOMPSON (THOMPSON); MANUFACTURER (FLY)

STU THOMPSON NOW TIES ON A PANFISH POPPER (ABOVE) WHEN FLY FISHING FOR CHUNKY TROUT

THE AUTHOR OF Tyed & True: 101

Fly Patterns Proven To Catch Fish, fly-fishing guru Stu Thompson is a stickler for using precisely tied imitations to match the insects that trout are eating. Except, that is, when he isn’t. By way of example, he points to one time he was fly fishing with his youngest son in Manitoba’s Duck Mountains.

“I was catching what I call ‘dinkers,’ which are rainbows under 10 inches in length,” Thompson says.

“After I caught a couple, my son came along and said, ‘Can I see

your flies?’ I give him my box and he picked out a panfish popper.

I said, ‘You’re not going to catch anything with that.’”

His son started casting the popper anyway, and soon caught six rainbows measuring between 25 and 27 inches in length. “Here I am using carefully hand-tied traditional trout flies, catching six- to 10-inch trout, while he’s whacking giant rainbows with a panfish popper,” says Thompson. Since that day, he’s caught so many trout himself on poppers that he never

goes fly fishing without stashing some in his vest.

Believing that rainbows mistake panfish poppers for backswimmers struggling on the water’s surface, Thompson has also discovered that tiger trout—known for their aggressive nature—will annihilate much bigger bass poppers. “You can whack 26- to 30-inch tiger trout on them all day long,” he says. “It’s just amazing how outof-this-world they are. Nowadays, I use poppers to catch tigers, rainbows, browns and brookies. Every fly angler knows how good deerhair mice are for brook trout. They always work. So, why not other styles of poppers?”

Why not, indeed.

»

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA | 4 3

»

ANGLER: DONOVAN PEARASE CHANNEL CAT TACTIC: GIVE ’EM THE SLIP SOMETIMES, YOU CAN learn an

unconventional tactic by carefully observing other anglers. Such was the case for Donovan Pearase of Blackwater Cats, one of Manitoba’s finest angling outfitters. It was early in his guiding career, and he was watching another guide who had anchored on the rocks below the Lockport Dam on the Red River. “He got out wearing hip waders, while his guests were casting around him,” Pearase recalls.

“Every time they would snag up on the rocks, he would walk over and unhook them. He would be standing out of the boat netting fish for them. It was crazy.”

Pearase chuckles when he thinks back to when he first copied the technique, getting right over top of the massive channel cats in the fast, shallow water below the dam. “I was wearing old shoes and jumped into the river. It was about three feet deep,” he says. “I poked

around the bottom with my hand, thinking I might be able to noodle out a catfish, but there were no holes for the fish to hide in.”

So instead, Pearase tied a hook to 20 feet of 80-pound nylon tippet material and baited it with a piece of goldeye. He then put on a work glove, wrapped the line around his hand and let it dangle in three feet of water as he sat on a rock, the current washing around him. “Would you believe it? I felt a couple of boom, boom, booms and it was fish on. I wrestled it like it was an alligator in that fast water,” he says of what ended up being a 34-inch, 20-plus-pound Master Angler channel cat. “I held it up like Rocky winning the championship belt, and the whole shoreline exploded with people yelling and cheering. It was such a cool experience.”

Pearse has since adapted the zany technique, using slip bob-

44 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

bers to get right on top of the fish when the bite slows down in the heat of midsummer—a time when the rule book says the fish get sluggish and go deep. “People can’t believe we throw bobbers in super-shallow water as the primary way to catch catfish,” he says. “The fish have a reputation as being dumb and lazy, eating things off the bottom. But we’ll take big slip bobbers and go up into that really fast water rushing over the ultra-shallow rocks, and absolutely crush big channel cats, one after the other. " Not that Pearase uses the tactic simply to give his clients a unique experience. Often, it’s the only way to put fish in the boat. “It’s such a blast for people who have never done it before—even experienced catfish anglers—to throw bobbers into fast water, over shallow rocks, and have them ripped under,” he says. According to Pearase, the catfish will go after the bait and miss it a couple of times, but then you’ll see their dorsal fins break the surface and the bobber go down. So much for the myth that channel cats are slow, lethargic and sluggish. Says Pearase: “They’re topend predators.”

DONOVAN PEARASE (PEARASE); (PETE BOWMAN (BOWMAN); MANUFACTURERS (SLIP BOBBER, LURE)

+

DONOVAN PEARASE FISHES OVER TOP OF SHALLOWWATER CHANNEL CATS WITH A SLIP BOBBER (RIGHT)

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MY FRIEND PETE BOWMAN, co-host

of TV’s Fish’n Canada Show, laughs when I tell him about how Pearase ignored the channel cat rule book.

That’s because also learning to think outside of the box has helped him catch walleye on southern Ontario’s famous Bay of Quinte.

“It was back around 2002 when I met a walleye pro named Tom Gustar,” Bowman says. “He kept telling me about the giant late-fall walleye he was catching.” At the time, Bowman says he was boating a lot of decent fish using jigs, but only occasionally catching a trophy. So, he was amazed when he went fishing with Gustar and had several 20-plus walleye days, with the fish averaging more than 10 pounds. “We were trolling long, slender, walleye-style crankbaits,” Bowman says. “That alone was a game-changer for me, but it isn’t the full story.”

In those days, natural-coloured baits were the big deal, with perch patterns being Bowman’s favourites. Shad and similar subtle hues worked well, too. So, he stuck with the natural-looking bait philosophy for quite some time. Fast-forward more than 20 years, however, and Bowman says he now rarely uses natural-coloured cranks. That includes when he’s fishing in the ultra-clear water of Lake Ontario,

where the rule book says the fish carefully inspect your lure, looking for flaws before they strike.

Bowman’s change of heart over lure colours came after he fished with a novice angler who thought it would be fun to troll a crazycoloured crankbait. “I told him, ‘Sure, go for it,’ while I snickered to myself,” he says. “I mean, there was zero science involved. But you know what happened next? Mr. Novice got multiple bites, and I am suddenly saying to myself, Wait a minute, what’s going on here?”

As a result, Bowman now routinely pulls garishly coloured baits such as Yo-Zuri’s Crystal Minnow Deep Divers in Purple Wonderbread (pictured above), Acid Perch, Chartreuse Tiger, Midnight and—get this—Zombie. “Only after I’ve exhausted all of these weird colours will I even think about tying on a subtle shade,” he says.

“And then it’s pure white, which really isn’t natural, either.”

Whether he’s trolling for walleye on the Bay of Quinte, one of the many lakes in Ontario’s Algoma country, central Alberta’s Pinehurst Lake or Maxhamish Lake in the B.C. Rockies, Bowman now always starts with the brightest, loudest, craziestcoloured cranks in his tacklebox.

“High five to the novice anglers who think outside the box,” he says.

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W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA | 4 5

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ANGLER: BOB IZUMI

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CLOUD COVER AND WIND CAN MAKE FOR EXCELLENT FISHING FOR BIG PIKE ON THE FEED

NORTHERN PIKE (& BASS) TACTIC: STIR THINGS UP

MY BUDDY BOB IZUMI, whose Real

+

BOB IZUMI SAYS THE FISH CAN OFTEN TURN ON WHEN BOATS, INCLUDING BIG FREIGHTERS (BELOW), STIR UP THE WATER

or anywhere there’s a discharge of water from the big boats and prop wash,” Izumi says, chuckling. “He caught big largemouth, smallmouth, even monster pike doing that in Georgian Bay, Lake Ontario,

46 | O U T D O O R C A N A D A [ N OV E M B E R/D E C E M B E R 2023 ]

Ontario Place—everywhere he went. He won tournaments catching big fish doing it. It’s amazing how you can use man-made machinery as the fish attractor in a natural setting.”

And such is the power of out-ofleft-field tactics. OC FISHING EDITOR GORD PYZER SAYS HE'S ALWAYS OPEN TO TRYING OUT UNUSUAL FISHING TACTICS.

W W W. O U T D O O R C A N A D A . C A

BOB IZUMI (IZUMI); BOB SEXTON (FREIGHTER)

Fishing Show was once a Saturday TV staple for so many Canadian anglers, picked up this outof-the-ordinary tactic just after ice out in northern Saskatchewan. He had caught a few small pike in a big, shallow, grassy, pike-spawning bay when the guide asked him to reel up, then drove the boat right through the weeds and reeds that rimmed the bay.

“It still shocks me to this day,” Izumi says. “I mean, he drove through the reeds around the bay we were fishing, in two feet of water. I remember asking him, ‘What are you doing?’ And he said, ‘I am scaring the pike out of the weeds.’”

They then returned to the middle of the bay and proceeded to load the boat with trophy northerns. “He spooked them out of the weeds and made them accessible, so I could cast to them in open water,” Izumi says. “I will never forget that day because it was so unorthodox compared to what I thought you had to do to catch pike.”

Since then, he and his brother, Wayne, have added the trick to their basstournament tactics. It’s especially effective in big reservoirs in the U.S. when the hydro gates are closed and there’s no current to turn on the bass. They simply run their bass boat around, stirring up everything with the big engine, then start fishing.

“For years, Wayne made a living fishing near freighters, ferries

Canada’s backyard is waiting.

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THE

WHITETAIL QUESTION

BY KEN BAILEY

WHEN IT COMES TO CANADA’S FAVOURITE BIG-GAME ANIMAL, THE WHITE-TAILED DEER REIGNS SUPREME. HERE’S WHY

tailed deer? In some respects, it’s counterintuitive, in that most things we absolutely fixate over tend to be exceedingly rare or extraordinarily difficult to obtain. I understand the single-mindedness of sheep hunters, for example. Unless you’re laser-beam-focused, your chances of successfully hunting a ram are pretty slim. But whitetails?

They’re absurdly common. So why are so many hunters obsessed with them, myself included? Let’s examine the question.»

48 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

MARK RAYCROFT

WHAT’S WITH THE obsession Canadian hunters have with white-

WHITETAILS RANGE ACROSS MOST OF CANADA

WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA | 49

BY FAR, WHITETAILS are Canada’s

most common large mammal.

They’re found in every province except P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador, and they’ve even made their way north into the Yukon and the N.W.T. In fact, the whitetail is the most widely distributed wild ungulate in all of the Americas, ranging as far south as Bolivia. Nearly every Canadian, hunter or not, can recognize a white-tailed deer.

Virtually synonymous with the term “big game,” whitetails have spawned or influenced the hunting world’s largest supporting industries, from camouflage, blinds, calls, apparel and ammunition, to dedicated publications, television shows and social media accounts—the list goes on.

Yet despite how common whitetails are, Canadian hunters are more passionate about them than any other game species. There

are many reasons we’re so ardent about chasing whitetails, I suppose. For starters, they’re readily available to the vast majority of hunters. Throughout my adult years, I’ve lived in Manitoba, B.C. and several locations in Alberta, and in each place, I’ve been able to hunt whitetails without having to travel far. As history has shown, they’re highly adaptable creatures, able to inhabit both remote natural landscapes and urban settings equally successfully.

Goldilocks would have loved whitetails because, when it comes to their size, they’re just right. You don’t need a team to haul out a whitetail, as you would with an elk or moose, so you can hunt them on your own without having to worry too much about how you’ll get them out. Even the largest buck can be retrieved in no more than two loads by most hunters.

I’m nearly always by myself

50 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

when hunting whitetails, for example, and I can usually get my deer out of the bush and into the bed of my pickup by myself. All it takes is a little rope, some creative use of the natural terrain, and a simple plywood ramp. Only when I tag an exceptionally large-bodied buck, or shoot a deer well back in the bush, do I occasionally need help.

At the same time, both bucks and does can provide enough meat to make a meaningful impact in your freezer. With just two deer, where regulations allow, your family is pretty much guaranteed to be well-fed throughout the winter. And as a bonus, whitetails are excellent on the table. When handled carefully in the field, stored correctly and prepared properly, venison is wonderfully tender and flavourful, whether it’s steaks, roasts or ground. Even those with a little trepidation about eating wild meat will enjoy a meal of venison.

MARK RAYCROFT(DEER); KEN BAILEY (HUNTER)

WHITETAILS THRIVE IN BOTH REMOTE AND URBAN SETTINGS

THE AVAILABILITY

THE VERSATILITY UNLIKE MOST OTHER big game,

another attribute of whitetails is that you can effectively hunt them in myriad ways. You can hunt them from treestands or ground blinds. You can still-hunt them, or track them through the snow. And you can spot-and-stalk hunt them, or set up bush pushes, or drives. Over the years, I’ve pursued whitetails using every one of those tactics, all with success.

I shot my largest buck ever on a drive through a half-mile by halfmile willow and alder flat. I was a pusher, and a buck moved by another pusher stepped out onto a fenceline trail in the middle of the flat, 100 yards or so ahead of me. At the shot, he sprinted off, but we found him on the ground just 30 yards from where he’d been standing.

Unfortunately, he’d run straight into one of the very few large trees on the flat, breaking off his right main beam just above the brow tine. It was broken again about two inches inch beyond the first break, and the top three or four inches of his G2 point were busted off. We dug around in two feet of snow and found the two-inch plug from the main beam, but we never did find the top piece of his G2; who knows how far it might have flown in the collision.

My taxidermist pieced the rack back together for me as best as he could, and it ended up scoring approximately 173 typical—unofficially, of course, because it had been repaired. That deer is likely to be the largest I’ll ever shoot; despite how abundant they are, mature bucks are just that elusive.

I vividly recall sitting in on a seminar hosted by Dave Hall, the legendary wildlife officer from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

He said hunters should consider themselves extremely lucky to ever take a 170-point typical whitetail, the minimum score required to earn a place in the alltime Boone and Crockett record book. Shoot two in your life, Hall added, and you should be buying lottery tickets instead of hunting, Shoot three? If you were able to do that, Hall said, he would come after you, because you’re probably a poacher. I have no doubt there are hunters out there who have legally collected three recordbook bucks, but Hall’s point should not be taken lightly—big white-tailed bucks are just that difficult to fool. »

BIG BUCKS CAN BE HUNTED IN A WIDE VARIETY OF WAYS

WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA | 51

THE OPTIONS

THE CHALLENGE PRECISELY BECAUSE WHITE-TAILED

bucks are so uncannily elusive, hunters have developed specific tactics over time to deceive them, particularly during the rut when a buck’s defences are somewhat weakened by the overwhelming desire to find and breed receptive does. The challenge of successfully putting the various tactics to use is another part of the allure of whitetail hunting.

Take rattling, for example. It first became popular in the early 1980s, and remains an effective strategy to this day. I always carry rattling antlers when deer hunting, and over the years I’ve rattled in a healthy number of bucks. I’ve filled a few tags that way, too, but the rattling experience I remember most didn’t end up with a dead deer.

I was hunkered down under a spruce on the eastern side of a 50-acre block of timber, surrounded on all sides by open fields.

I’d placed a doe decoy 100 yards away out in the open, downwind of the treed block, and was rattling vigorously for several minutes every half-hour. My expectation

was that if a buck responded to my rattling, he’d see the counterfeit doe and head out to investigate whether she was ready to breed.

So, imagine my surprise when a mature 5x5 buck stuck his head under the spruce bough providing my cover. His nose was so close I could have easily reached up and tweaked it. I’m not sure which of us jumped higher when we recognized the situation for what it was, but suffice it to say, he was gone long before I’d gathered my wits about me.

After retracing the buck’s steps in the snow, I discovered he’d emerged from the stand of trees on the north edge of the block, then walked east to the corner from where he could certainly see the decoy. Rather than head across the open field to investigate, however, he instead chose to walk quietly along the eastern edge to the exact point he’d heard the rattling coming from. The buck actually had to lower his head to look under the overhanging bough, only to discover me sitting there in blissful oblivion. Challenge, indeed.

52 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

SHOOT OR DON'T SHOOT? WHITETAILS OFFER CHOICES

MARK RAYCROFT

WARY BIG BUCKS CAN PUT A HUNTER'S SKILLS TO THE TEST

standard gear among some whitetail hunters, while others choose to ignore them. I’m a big believer in their value. These days, I use a single buck decoy most often. Two falls ago, I was hunting from a ground blind on a 20-yard-wide alley through a 160-acre block of trees, with my decoy placed a mere 35 yards away.

On three successive mornings, I had a buck walk right up to my decoy, each one larger than the one before.

The third buck was a decent 5x5 that I probably should have taken, but for reasons I can’t fully explain, I didn’t.

Perhaps at the time I thought that an even bigger buck would appear the following morning, but naturally, that just didn’t happen.

Those were just three of literally dozens of deer I’ve had investigate my decoys over the seasons, and I’ll continue to include them in my whitetail-hunting arsenal. By responding to decoys, whitetails give me the luxury of deciding whether to shoot, and that again adds to their appeal as a big-game animal.

MARK RAYCROFT (BUCK); KEN BAILEY (HUNTERS)

SPEAKING OF DECOYS, they’ve become

A WHITETAIL HUNTER'S EDUCATION NEVER ENDS

THE LEARNING

HUNTING FROM GROUND blinds

has become my go-to in recent years, but for a long time I was a dedicated still-hunter. I think it was because of my sense of wanderlust, always eager to see what was around the next corner. I loved nothing better than moving stealthily through the forest or along a field edge on a cool, crisp day, the fresh snow dampening my sound. It’s extremely challenging, but when it all comes together, there’s no more rewarding way to tag a mature whitetail.

Mind you, there are many more disappointments than successes when it comes to still-hunting.

When I look back at the biggest bucks I’ve almost taken over the years, in fact, I encountered most of them while still-hunting. Invariably, it was a case of them identifying me before I spotted them, almost always within 50 yards.

Despite that, I continue to spend a few days still-hunting each season, constantly looking for that twitch of an ear or swish of a tail that will give away a deer before it knows

I’m there. And if I’ve learned anything about still-hunting, it’s that no matter how slowly you walk, you need to slow down even more.

Getting schooled like that also plays into the obsession with whitetails. They are, to some extent, creatures of habit that can be patterned. Learn your hunting area thoroughly, and it won’t take long to identify those patterns, allowing you to plan your hunt accordingly. Still, just when you think you’ve got the deer figured out, they’ll surprise you and show up at times or in places you never expected them to.

That’s especially true for mature bucks; their unsurpassed survival instincts render them nearly invulnerable. Have you ever noticed how many really good bucks show up on your trail cam once, never to be seen again? That ghostly trait is the very essence of what makes whitetails so compelling, despite their everyman abundance and distribution. Evolution has done these animals proud.

My education as a whitetail hunter will never be over—there’s more I’ve not learned than the cumulative total of all of the lessons I’ve had to date. So this fall, I’ll be back in the whitetail woods, trying hard to put to use everything I know about fooling mature bucks.

They’ll be out there, too, undoubtedly trying to decide what new lessons they’re planning to teach this eternal student. OC SEE PAGE 30 FOR HUNTING EDITOR KEN BAILEY’S COLUMN EXAMINING FIRST FOCAL PLANE RIFLESCOPES.

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WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA | 53

LAST-CHANCE

MIKE HUNGLE

WALLEYE

BY MIKE HUNGLE

Don’t put away that tackle just yet!

The fall walleye bite can be the hottest of the year—if you know where to look 54 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

E

VEN THOUGH THE days are getting shorter and

the temperatures are dropping, the fall is still an excellent time to go after walleye. The fish will be on the move, however, so knowing where they’re going and why is key. It all comes down to water temperature and weed growth, and how those factors trigger walleye to abandon their summertime haunts. Here’s where to find the fish throughout the entire fall, along with tips on how best to catch them—and stay warm and comfortable in the process.

TARGET EARLY-FALL WALLEYE AS THEY FOLLOW BAITFISH ONTO WEEDY FLATS

EARLY FALL

WHEN THE WATER temperatures drop from their late-summer highs

into the 14°C to 18°C range, deeper underwater weedbeds start to die off.

As those weeds disappear, baitfish will seek out safety in the remaining healthy weedbeds, which are often found on shallow flats in less than 25 feet of water. When that happens, walleye will also start to congregate near the remaining shallow weedbeds, feeding heavily on the minnows and other aquatic creatures hiding in the diminishing cover.

MIKE HUNGLE (ABOVE) SAYS THE KEY TO CATCHING FALL WALLEYE IS TO MONITOR WATER TEMPS AND WEED GROWTH

TACTICS When the baitfish are bunched up in weedbeds on shallow-water flats, I like to pull spinner rigs adjacent to the weeds.

As soon as someone in the boat connects with a fish, I save a waypoint on my sonar unit. Then once we stop catching fish, I simply turn the boat around and keep working the area between the waypoints. This is often a very small

zone, unlike in the late summer when the walleye are spread out and I have to troll long stretches of shoreline to catch them.

When the bite between my waypoints finally slows down, I then head to another weedbed, and fish it the same way. Over the course of a day, I may save a dozen waypoints for such prime areas, which » in the I will return to again later

»

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA | 5 5

SET UP YOUR SHOOTING STICKS ONCE YOU SPOT A BEDDED WHITETAIL

season, as well as in years to come.

At this time of the year, I typically pull my spinner rigs at a trolling speed of one to 1.4 miles per hour. Sometimes, I’ll catch noticeably more fish when travelling in one direction over another. When that happens, I switch up my trolling patterns to fish primarily in the hot direction. Once I reach the end of the trolling area, I reel up and zip back to the start, rather than troll my way back to the first waypoint. This maximizes my fishing time, especially during the shorter fall days.

BAIT & TACKLE During the early fall, I like to get the attention of walleye by giving my offerings more flash and vibration. To do that, I upsize my spinner blades from the size 4 Colorado blades I use in the summer to sizes 5 and 6. My top blade colours for this time of year are silver, white, brass, gold and perch, which replicate the minnows and smaller fish the walleye are feeding on.

As for bait, my go-to is a big leech. When fishing leeches in the summer, in fact, I set aside the largest ones and save them for the autumn. Many anglers don’t use leeches in colder water, finding they ball up instead of streaming out seductively. To avoid that, I fill up the livewell and put the container of big leeches in it as soon my boat is in the water. This helps the leeches acclimate to the cooler water and remain lively, so they won’t ball up when I hook them on my spinner rig.

TROLL LEECH-TIPPED SPINNER RIGS FOR EARLY-FALL WALLEYE

FALL CHALLENGES LATE-SEASON WALLEYE action can be

8

FOR MORE ON FISHING WITH LEECHES, GO TO WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA/LEECHLESSONS.

hot and heavy, but it often comes with a price. On even the warmest late-fall days, the air temperature can be cold, especially if there is a breeze over the water or you’re travelling at high speeds between fishing locations. To stay warm and dry, dress for the occasion, complete with insulated pants, a jacket and a hoodie.

Waterproof gloves and a toque are also a good idea. One of the most overlooked pieces of autumn fishing apparel is proper footwear. While runners are great on dry

56 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

land, they don’t cut it during fall fishing, even if you’re in a boat with a raised floor.

Wear insulated boots instead. That way, you can concentrate on the fishing—not on miserably cold feet.

Late in the season, you will also find that the docks at many boat launches have already been pulled ashore. That doesn’t mean you can’t use the launch; you just have to adapt a little. Have one angler remain in the boat to drive it off the trailer (and back on later), then remain close to shore while the other angler parks

LEARN FLY TYING FROM A MASTER

A step-by-step guide to tying 37 proven fly patterns

By Phil Rowley

FOR LATE-FALL WALLEYE, HEAD FOR DEEP WATER NEXT TO HARD STRUCTURE

LATE FALL MIKE HUNGLE (ANGLERS); MANUFACTURER (SPINNER RIG); MELISSA MCMASTERS (LEECH)

AS FALL PROGRESSES and the water temperature drops into

the 8°C to 12°C range, the walleye are forced to migrate yet again. That’s because the baitfish move out of the shallower weeds and start to bunch up in balls, suspended over deep water. The walleye then follow and suspend with the minnows, or slightly under them, putting an end to the hot bite near the shallow weedbeds. They’ll typically stay in these locations until the lake turns over, then becomes covered in ice.

The baitfish—and walleye—won’t randomly suspend over any deep water, however. Typically, they’ll head for deep areas adjacent to underwater structure with a rocky bottom, or transitional areas between shallow and deep water. Common spots include underwater points, rock piles and ledges on the edges of deep drop-offs. While the walleye will spend much of the day suspended at mid-water depths targeting the baitfish, they sometimes slide over onto the adjacent structure and feed there, too.

Over the years, I’ve also noticed that if the walleye are suspended at a certain depth in open water, they’ll often be found at a similar depth while relating to structure. I also find they’re more inclined to be on the structure later in the day. When you get a late-season day that’s sunny, calm and warm, however, they’ll often be found around the structure all day long.

»

the tow vehicle. That person then just has to jump into the boat, a task made easier with waders or a small plastic step stool.

Finally, remember to drain your boat engine, livewells, pumps, drains and bilges after a day on the water. Otherwise, if the water freezes it will expand and potentially damage the expensive components. Once your boat is on the trailer, raise and lower the outboard a few times to get all the water out. At the same time, don’t forget to also remove the boat plug and empty the livewells.

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FLY PATTERNS

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imperative to use electronics to comb potential walleye-fishing areas before wetting a line. It takes patience, but you need to travel slowly over promising areas to let the electronics work at full capacity to give you accurate findings.

Most sonar units work best at speeds slower than two miles per hour, although I like to scope out areas at half that speed.

To remain stealthy while scouting, I prefer to scan while navigating with my bow-mounted electric trolling motor. I also methodically search promising areas using a grid pattern, or by moving from deeper to shallower water. If I don’t find fish, I move to another area and repeat the search process.

CHOICE LATE-FALL LURES INCLUDE THE CLAM TIKKA MINNOW [1], PK FLUTTER FISH [2, 5], PK RIDGE RATTL'R [3] AND RAPALA JIGGING RAP [4]

FOR LATE-FALL WALLEYE, JIG AGGRESSIVELY

While combing deep-water areas, don’t just look for large arches depicting suspended walleye. Also keep an eye out for balls of baitfish—if there are giant masses of bait, the walleye won’t be far away. Then when I find a bait ball using the sonar mode on my electronics, I switch the view to the down-imaging mode. That way, it’s possible to see exactly what’s happening with the arches or balls.

The ultimate goal is to see larger fish mixed right in with the forage, indicating the walleye are on a feeding frenzy.

BAIT & TACKLE Once I locate some walleye, I hold my boat’s position over top of them using the Spot-Lock feature on my trolling

2 1

4

3

5

SASKATCHEWAN'S MIKE HUNGLE ENJOYS FISHING FOR WALLEYE THROUGHOUT ALL FOUR SEASONS.

58 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

MIKE HUNGLE

TACTICS In the late fall, it’s

motor, then vertically jig. I typically use the same lures I’ll jig a few weeks later when the lake is covered with ice. That includes horizontal jigging minnows, jigging spoons and lipless crankbaits.

Instead of finesse-fishing the lures as I would during the hardwater season, however, I’ll jig them aggressively to capitalize on the likewise aggressive nature of the late-fall walleye.

Horizontal jigging minnows such as the Clam Tikka Mino and Rapala Jigging Rap drop in a spiral pattern similar to an injured minnow, then dart like escaping baitfish when lifted upward. I like to rip them up two or three feet, then let them fall. Often, a walleye will strike on the drop, so be ready to set the hook on each lift.

Jigging spoons, such as the PK Flutter Fish and the Jig-AWhopper Hawger Spoon from HT Enterprises, are another option for both suspended fish and fish on structure. These lures flash and vibrate as they drop erratically, so by lifting and dropping them, you can imitate an injured minnow.

It’s also a good idea to periodically let the lure stop, since walleye will often strike on the pause. Jigging spoons come in both flat and bent styles; the flat ones tend to drop faster, while the bent lures give off more flash and vibration. The fish will tell you which style they prefer on any given day.

Lipless crankbaits, especially those with built-in rattles, such as the Rapala Rippin’ Rap and PK Ridge Rattl’r, also work very well in late autumn. When lifted, they rattle and buzz, while also giving off a lot of flash. Then as they drop, they wobble downwards like a wounded baitfish. I like to zip them up about 18 inches, let them drop and, once bottomed out, jiggle them for a few seconds before ripping them upwards again. You can expect a hit at any point, so make sure you stay in contact with the lure at all times—and hang on tight. OC

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BABE IN CANADA

THE MOST FAMOUS BASEBALL PLAYER OF HIS TIME, BABE RUTH ALSO HAD A PASSION FOR FISHING AND HUNTING, ESPECIALLY IN THE MARITIMES

BY CRAIG MITCHELL

YARMOUTH COUNTY ARCHIVES

THE AUTHOR ENJOYS THE CHALLENGE OF HUNTING CAGEY PRAIRIE BUCKS

POSING WITH THEIR BOUNTY FOLLOWING BABE RUTH'S FIRST HUNTING TRIP TO NOVA SCOTIA IN 1935 ARE (LEFT TO RIGHT) OUTDOOR LIFE WRITER BOB EDGE, RUTH AND FELLOW HUNTER JACK MATTHEWS

WHEN IT COMES to baseball, per-

haps no player is more associated with America’s favourite pastime than legendary slugger George Herman “Babe” Ruth. In the eyes of many sports-crazed Americans, Babe Ruth was not just a homerun king, he was practically a god among men. Still today, many consider the Sultan of Swat to be the greatest ball player of all time,

OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

pointing to the famed southpaw’s batting career with the New York Yankees during the 1920s and ’30s.

Knocking balls out of the park wasn’t the Great Bambino’s only passion, however.

A man of simple pleasures despite his immense fame, influence and wealth, Ruth enjoyed eating, drinking, gambling, golfing, the company of women and,

»

W W W . O U T D O O R C A N A D A . C A | 61

more than anything, escaping to the great outdoors whenever he could. If he wasn’t near a baseball diamond, in fact, Ruth was likely on one of his many hunting and fishing adventures: alligators in the Florida Everglades, waterfowl in California, whitetails in the U.S. Midwest, bluefin tuna off Massachusetts, quail in the southern states and, more often than not, big-game hunting and salmon fishing in the remote wilds of Eastern Canada.

Here’s a sampling of just a few of the Great Bambino’s Maritime escapades, tales gleaned from the countless newspaper articles, magazine features, books, online archives and more that have documented his illustrious baseball career—and life beyond the batter’s box.

was on the trip, commented that Ruth was in exemplary shape, saying the hunt was the perfect remedy for what ailed him. “He walked 40 miles from the hunting camp to the nearest railroad station without so much as a word of protest,” Shawkey told the Times.

One of Ruth’s hunting guides, however, was said to be frustrated

by his lack of effort and physical ability. “Apparently Ruth did not impress his guide,” reported the Sydney Record, “because he could only walk the first 15 miles into the bush and needed a horse to complete the other 25.”

Whether Ruth headed home in game shape following the trip is up for debate, but he did end up with

IN A TIME well before hunter ed and

firearms safety courses, Ruth was known to indulge himself in a variety of ways, particularly with beer, whisky and tobacco. Some historians would even argue his favourite pastime wasn’t necessarily hunting or fishing, or baseball, but drinking. There are countless stories of Ruth over-imbibing, even during his hunting trips. Once while on a duck shoot with his friend Glenn Thomas, a prominent California auto dealer, for example, Ruth got so drunk that Thomas was afraid he might accidentally shoot him. So contends the Long Beach Police Historical Society, at least.

Interestingly, during the Prohibition era in the U.S., Ruth often ventured north of the border to Canada, where alcohol was still perfectly legal in most jurisdictions by the late 1920s. Not all of his forays north of the border involved alcohol, however. On the contrary, Ruth travelled to New Brunswick in 1925—the province would end its own alcohol ban two years later—for a moose hunt, ostensibly to work off his steady diet of tobacco and booze.

Depending on who you asked at the time, Ruth was either a physical burden on the hunting party or, as the New York Times claimed, the three-week trip “brought Babe Ruth back to health with a rush.” Then Yankee pitcher Bob Shawkey, who

CANADIAN CONNECTIONS A LITTLE-KNOWN statistic that may

break a few American hearts is that Babe Ruth didn’t hit his first professional home run in the U.S., but at Hanlan’s Point Stadium on Toronto’s Centre Island. He was a 19-year-old minor league rookie at the time, pitching for Rhode Island’s Providence Grays. In the legendary 1914 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he pitched a one-hitter and hit three homers over the right-field fence, winning the International League game 9-0. A plaque near the site of the longgone stadium commemorates the historic feat.

Prior to his pro ball career, Ruth’s first connection to Canada was a teacher he befriended while attending St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore, Maryland. A native of Cape Breton, Brother Matthais (born Martine Leo Boutlier) was credited with teaching Ruth everything he knew about baseball, as well as providing the future Hall of Famer with structure and mentorship. Ruth, who was

62 | O U T D O O R C A N A D A [ N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2023 ]

described as being “incorrigible” at the time, would go on to call Matthais “the greatest man I’ve ever known.”

It’s not a leap, then, to imagine Ruth’s later adventures in Nova Scotia were inspired by his beloved teacher.

One odd quirk of Ruth’s personality was his apparent penchant for fibbing about his personal connections to Canada. Most notably, he told everyone his first wife, Helen Woodford, was from Nova Scotia. She was actually from Boston, but Ruth’s white lie remains on the record both in print and online to this day. He would also tell people they were married in Montreal, when in fact they tied the knot in Ellicott City, Maryland. Apparently, it made him happy telling people about his supposed Canadian connections.

During one of his duck-hunting trips to Nova Scotia, Ruth even acquired a living memento of Canada, bringing home a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever. It was said he was enamored by the work ethic and personality of the breed.

an ice box full of moose meat. Much like Ruth’s hunting and fishing stories, which were known to contain exaggerations and sometimes flatout lies, the truth probably lay somewhere in the middle.

CERTAINLY, EXAMPLES OF Ruth’s tall

tales are plentiful, with one such story stemming from one of his trips to Nova Scotia. While fly fishing for Atlantic salmon on the St. Mary’s River, he was wading into a pool when he either misjudged the depth or slipped on a rock, catapulting him into some rapids. Luckily, Ruth’s quick-thinking guide, the legendary Dan MacIntosh, managed to rescue him from certain drowning.

It was later reported that, despite not catching a single fish himself, Ruth happily posed for photos with several salmon that others had pulled from the river. And while he

regaled friends with stories of his supposed catches, he carefully omitted his near-death experience.

Not all of Ruth’s hunting and fishing adventures were debated or questioned, however, as he was genuinely considered a great outdoorsman. Revered around the world for his talents with a baseball bat, he was also a crack shot with his .401 Winchester, and shotgun. “He’s a snapshooter, as quick as lightning, and he can drill a tomato can at 60 yards,” sports commentator Bob Edge wrote in Outdoor Life following a hunting trip with Ruth to Nova Scotia in 1935.

He wasn’t one to mix business with his time afield, either. When a journalist once managed to find him on one of his hunting sojourns, Ruth said, “I never mix baseball with pheasant shooting. Say I caught 16 pheasants today. Let the fans know about that.”

OUTDOOR LIFE (BOB EDGE ARTICLE); STEVEN CHADWICK/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (PLAQUE)

RUTH'S FIRST HUNTING TRIP TO NOVA SCOTIA IN 1935 WAS IMMORTALIZED IN A FEATURE ARTICLE IN OUTDOOR LIFE MAGAZINE

As for having fun, however, Ruth was known to be a character both on and off the field. And whether it was his childlike enthusiasm and excitement for an upcoming hunt, or the adult stresses that came from being a professional baseball player, Ruth didn’t sleep very much at hunt camp. As such, he liked being the first one up—and indulging in his penchant for joking around. Probably the best example came during his time spent at a hunting camp in Nova Scotia’s Yarmouth area.

As the story goes, after a night of playing cards, drinking Jack Daniels and swapping yarns, Ruth and the guides would hit the hay. But then around 4 A.M., Ruth would sneak outside and fire off both barrels of his 12-gauge shotgun, instantly rousing his sleepy and annoyed Acadian guides. He’d then rack the shotgun, return to the cabin and have breakfast prepared before dawn, grinning the entire time.

RUTH WAS DEFINITELY not shy

in front of the cameras, so his love of the outdoors was well known to the media and general public. He would often showcase his harvested game, conspicuously draping the pelts, carcasses and even his taxidermy over top of his car for all to see and photograph. Perhaps his most documented and celebrated hunting excursion was his trip to Nova Scotia in 1935, when he was accompanied by Bob Edge writing for Outdoor Life.

It was Ruth’s first hunt in the province, and after fewer than 24 hours in the woods, he’d harvested a nice eight-pointer on a drive.

According to Edge, an exuberant Ruth ran around after the buck was down telling his Canadian guide, “Little bear hug, old-timer. Give Babe a little bear hug!” And in typical jock fashion, Ruth liked to use sports jargon to describe various situations. While boasting how the deer didn’t run far due to his shot placement, he remarked, “That’s a good game. When you make a hit, you don’t have to run.”

Then later, during a drive for a bull moose, a cow and a calf appeared and started trotting

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RUTH (FOURTH FROM THE LEFT) AND A GROUP OF HIS HUNTING BUDDIES ARRIVE AT A HUNT CAMP IN RURAL NEW BRUNSWICK BACK IN 1925.

IN NOVEMBER OF 1940, Ruth once

again travelled to New Brunswick for some big-game hunting. There are few details about the circumstances

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THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB AWARDED RUTH'S 1940 BUCK SECOND PLACE AT ITS 1949 COMPETITION; THE BUCK'S SCORE SHEET

64 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 ]

BOONE & CROCKETT CLUB (DEER, SCORE SHEET); U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS (RUTH); PROVINCAL ARCHIVES OF NEW BRUNSWICK (HUNTERS)

toward Ruth’s hunting location. When they got to within 17 yards of him, Ruth leapt to his feet and swung a large tree root at the startled animals. As Edge observed, he did it as much to scare off the moose as to encourage a chuckle from the other hunters. Ruth would go on to miss two opportunities at a bull, but in his typical fashion said, “One muff doesn’t mean the ball game.”

After heading back to camp that same day, Ruth and his guide decided to go looking for a bear. They soon spotted one eating the remains of some bait, and crept closer. Ruth tripped as he was about to fire, however, spooking the bear. He quickly regained his footing and fired a few rounds at the fleeing animal, fatally wounding it.

When Ruth later returned to New York City, he was eager to share his accomplishments with the awaiting hordes of media and adoring fans. In keeping with his grand style, he drove down the gangplank of the steamship SS New York in his spiffy Stutz Bearcat touring car with the buck strapped to the front bumper and the bear propped up in the rumble seat.

“The deer and the bear weren’t all we got,” he announced, according to writer Leigh Montville. “We also got some ducks and woodcock.”

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of the hunt, but what is known is that he took a dandy of a white-tailed buck sporting five points on the right antler and six on the left. That deer would go to earn second place in the whitetail category at the Boone and Crockett Club’s third annual North American Big Game Competition in 1949—a year after the famed batter died of cancer at the age of just 53. It was submitted by Ruth’s taxidermist, John Hansen.

While the buck wasn’t a complete giant, it was clearly different. So observed T. Donald Carter, assistant curator of mammals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. “What made it unique was how the main beams almost touched,” he told the New York WorldTelegram and Sun “They form a circle almost as complete as the circle the Bambino used to make of the bases in his diamond heyday.” OC IN OUR JANUARY/FEBRUARY ISSUE, CONTRIBUTOR CRAIG MITCHELL SHARED THE TALE OF PELEE ISLAND, ONTARIO’S RUM-RUNNING PAST.

BABE AT BAT BORN IN BALTIMORE, Maryland, on

February 6, 1895, George Herman Ruth had his Major League Baseball debut in 1914 as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. He would later transition to the outfield, rising to international fame with the New York Yankees from 1920 to 1934. He

ended his career in 1935 with the then Boston Braves. In all, Ruth won seven World Series, three with the Red Sox and four with the Yankees, and was a 12-time home-run leader in the American League. He is the only player in MLB history to have pitched a shut-out and batted multiple home runs during the World Series, including a pair of three-homer games.

With 714 homeruns and 2,214 RBIs to his credit during his MLB career, Ruth was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. Only two players have since topped his home-run record, first Hank Aaron, then Barry Bonds. The left-hander’s slugging percentage of .690 remains the league’s all-time best, however, while his batting average of .342 is now tied at eighth best of all-time. Ruth died of cancer in New York City on August 16, 1948, at the age 53.

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HOMAGE

BY BOB SEXTON

BY ERIN KAY

The release

A FITTING FINISH TO THE BATTLE WITH A WORTHY OPPONENT break in the resistance. She has exhausted herself, and now is my chance to coax her in.

The final stretch of a muskie fight is comparable to winding up a jack-in-the-box: each tentative crank of the reel brings you closer to an explosive finale. As the distance closes between us, I glance over the edge of the boat just in time to catch her engaging in a gator-like death roll, a final act of defiance. With each rapid thrash, her second wind fades, and I’m finally able to guide her into the net—a feeling of pure ecstasy. What follows is an efficient sequence to ensure this incredible predator has a rapid and healthy recovery: unhook, measure, photograph, release. As I watch her glide free of my grasp and descend into darkness, I remain awestruck. The elusive fish of 10,000 casts, gone without a trace. OC ERIN KAY CAUGHT AND RELEASED HER MUSKIE (ABOVE) ON A “HIDDEN GEM” OF A LAKE NEAR KENORA, ONTARIO.

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W W W.O U T D O O RCA N A DA .CA

ERIN KAY

A

S WE TROLL between shoals, the serene hum of the outboard reverberates off the bay’s granite walls, filling the still summer air with blissful white noise. Suddenly, I feel my lure slam into something. We had come a bit shallow, so it must be hitting bottom. Then there’s another slam. Is that a muskie? Slam again. That’s a muskie.

My knuckles turn white as the queen of the lake begins an epic game of tug-of-war, challenging me for my crankbait.

Eyeing the gin-clear water for evidence of my opponent as she rushes towards the boat, I crank my reel as though my life depends on it. Suddenly, she breaks the surface, and I’m flooded with wonder by the muskie acrobatics. The sun illuminates her olive scales and stark black dapples as she writhes with primal fury, a true untouched wonder. My lure rattles as she tries to evade its hold, but it doesn’t give, even when she hauls it back into the depths.

At this point, I might as well be wrestling an anchor, and I’m beginning to think I’ve met my match. Then I feel a

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