Volume 4
Fins and Feathers
Kids and the Outdoors
Letter from the Editors
Please enjoy volume four of Fins and Feathers and thank you for your responses on volume three. If you would like to contribute an article, pictures or recipe please let us know, our deadline is 12:00 Friday. Enjoy this week's articles and let us know if there is something you would like to read about in a future issue.
MINNESOTA
By: Annie Agone
Minnesota is the place we go for ¼ of our summer. It is a great state. The state of Paul Bunyan. It is a place to fish, tubing, and have fun. My grandparents have a cabin in Minnesota and it is full of great fun. There are usually 13 to 14 people at the cabin which is a lot but it is still fantastic. We go fishing in the river that goes to the lake on the other side. I have caught a nice small mouth bass on the way to the way to the other lake. It was my first cast and I had no idea that I would catch a fish that day and when it happened I was very happy. We were in the canoe and my mom was on the paddle board behind us. Me and Wesley were in the middle fishing while Grady and my dad were on the end and front. Also at the cabin we go tubing. My dad got an awesome blue gray and white tube that is pulled behind my Papa’s speed boat. We have gone so fast on that thing. It darts through the water like a bullet being shot out of a gun. We do loops around the lake (Mitchel Lake). I like sharp turns and fast straight loops. Driving the boat is fun as well but it is sometimes hard to memorize all the buttons you can and cannot push. One of my most favorite things to do is fish on the dock for small sunfish. They swim under the parked boat. The small fish and sometimes a good size fish are very fun to catch. My little brother Wesley, once brought a fish all the way up the 50 stairs into the cabin living room! It was so funny. My brother caught a good bass on the way to the other lake as well. Another reason I like to go to Minnesota is all the trees. The trees in Minnesota smell great so when you're swimming, fishing, and even tubing you can smell them. Their smell is very strong but a good strong smell. Those are the things I like to do in Minnesota when we go.
Elk Hunting
By:Grady
I first started elk hunting last year with Grandpa and Dad. They had a late season cow tag in unit 371. Me and my dad drove up to my grandpa's house on Friday night. The next morning we went out to our spot down the road from my grandpa's house. There was solid 2 feet of snow on the ground. We hiked up a trail that connects to a road that hiked. When we got ways up the road we split up and my grandpa went one way and my dad went the other way. When we got to the top of the hill we found a spot to sit down and glass. We spotted some deer a ways off but no elk. For next elk season I put in an elk tag for up at grandpa's house. I have been practicing shooting for next elk season.
Late Season Elk Hunting No Elk but a nice Christmas Tree
The Extra Mile ~ for ticks
Story by Grandpa Tom
Every now and then my brain’s memory bank will kick in. This time it was stimulated by a few old photos and particularly, because of reading Fins & Feathers Magazine, written by my son & his family.
The picture of me was taken near the mouth of West Elk Creek which flows into Blue Mesa Reservoir about 15 miles west of Gunnison, CO. I’m guessing about 47 years have passed since then, and that picture reminded me of a special fishing trip.
Well, not just a fishing trip, but an adventure of sorts, especially for 10 year old Garner. Probably 16 years had passed since that picture of me and I’d only been back down that canyon once or twice since. One of the reasons being that it was such a long hard hike or horseback ride and an extremely steep trail. The 15 hundred foot drop from the canyons rim turns into well over a mile of a switch back trail adorned with rock spires formed from thousands of years of water flowing from the West Elk Mountains. On that particular summer day, Garner, myself and old Jim More made the trip. Three horses, several dogs, fishing gear, lunches, saddles and tack were all loaded in my old Dodge pick-up and a 5’ wide WW horse trailer. In other words a lot was going on!
We picked up our friend Jim, who was about 70 years old, at his cabin on a neighboring ranch. Jim was a fixture there and a colorful character, to say the least. He also liked to fish and like Garner and me, enjoyed being outdoors on horseback.
Twenty five miles later, we turned off Highway 50 onto Red Creek Road and about five miles of rough gravel later, reached Lion’s Gulch. Unloading, saddling and trying not to forget anything, we were finally off! Two miles or so later, we reached the end of Lion Gulch and were at the rim of West Elk Creek Canyon. What a spectacular vista! (See picture). Now, down to the bottom where the fish are…. Our horses were in shape and good on the trail, but you still had to pay attention on the steep switchbacks. One slip and it would be a bad day!
Finally at the bottom, we fished, had lunch and enjoyed the feeling of being “out there”. The sound of the creek, helping to put you into that other world, that can only be found in nature. Seeing a few mountain lion tracks kept us awake though and after two or three hours of fishing, with some brook trout wrapped in grass and stuffed in our saddle bags, we headed back up the trail.
I don’t remember how many fish we caught but what I do remember was about halfway to the top of the canyon, I noticed a tick crawling on my chaps. I brushed it off, but soon found another. By the time we got to the top Garner had some tick issues too. At the horse trailer we unsaddled and when brushing the horses found them crawling with ticks, dozens of them! Garner and I had tied our horses to some pines and there must have been a nest in the needles. We picked ticks off those horses for a good twenty minutes.
So when we got back home the day's story wasn’t about how many fish we caught or the lion tracks or the elk shed we found, it was about ticks! We were tired, hungry and knew we had gone the extra mile - for our limit of ticks.
From the top of the canyon trail ~ 1989
The author, with brook trout, on his first trip into West Elk Creek, circa 1973.
A Spring Hunting Season
By Garner Agone
Many times we associate hunting to be a fall activity but there is a great hunting opportunity that takes place every spring. Shed hunting is an increasingly popular activity and a great way to get outside as the weather warms and the snow melts. Each year male deer, elk and moose shed their antlers at various times during the spring after enduring the long winter. The cycle of antler growth then begins to repeat itself with antlers grown through pedicles on the skull. Here is a detailed article on the process for bull elk, https://www.elk101.com/2011/04/the-miracle-of-antler-growth/
With one of the top elk, deer and moose populations in North America, Colorado is a prime location to find antler sheds in the spring. Over the years I have been able to find sheds at any time during the year, with the best ones being freshly dropped in early spring. FInding a shed is always a fun experience and leaves you with an appreciation for the amazing aspects of nature. Antler sheds can have a number of uses from decorations to an interesting conversation piece when brought home from the woods. Many shed hunters can recollect the exact spot and time of year they found a specific shed.
Unfortunately the popularity of antler sheds and shed hunting has led many states, including Colorado, to place specific regulations and dates on the activity. Commercial demand and profit have increased, with quality shed antlers bringing in $15 a pound. States have also seen an increase in the number of outdoor recreationalist that often interfere with wild animals who have endured six to eight months of winter. Most states now have specific regulations on when it is legal to pick up shed antlers, Colorado has an established date of May 1st.
Shed hunting is an enjoyable way to get outside, find new places, and learn more about big game animals. Be sure to bring a backpack, scan for off color or out of place objects, and hillsides free of snow on your next hike. I would encourage anyone to venture off the path a little on their next outdoor adventure, you might find a shed.
A matched pair of Mule Deer sheds Wesley and Grandpa Tom with an Elk shed
Fly tying
By wesley
I like to tie streamers. Because they are fun to tie. You can catch Big fish with them. The pike and trout can Fight sometimes. You can pick your color. Of bunny hair when tying flies. in the mountains my grandpa catches big fish using streamers. in the mountains there are trout and pike when fishing in lakes and rivers. I like to tie flies with my dad, sister and brother.
My Flies My Dad’s Flies
