I Wonder What That Tastes Like...

I was spending some time down in Bozeman with my girlfriend and was driving around when I came across a 'going out of business' sale at a sporting goods store. This guy was hanging out in the back. I'd have to say, that's the first shoulder mount of a giraffe I've ever seen.

While I was down there I found some pretty cool land and shot a few ducks and a number of Hungarian Partridge. I also shot a coyote. I was sneaking up on some ducks in a little spring next to an abandoned rail road track. When the ducks got up I pick out a green-head and squeezed and it went down. I picked out another one and blam! It went down too. I was watching them fall, marking spots as I needed to walk around the springs to retrieve them when I caught a brown streak out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was a deer taking off below me but in a about a half-second, I realized it was a coyote only about 10 feet from me. I turned and shot almost more out of fear than anything else and rolled it. My neighbor kid traps so when I got home last night I gave it to him. Maybe he can make a few bucks off it.

I really never thought I would shoot a coyote because it looks too much like a dog but those things can decimate the small game in an area if they're not kept in check. They also eat a lot of fawns. I've even witnessed one stalking cattle one day looking for an opportunity to take down a calf. They get pretty brave when they're over-populated.

Last weekend I was able to fish the Yellowstone for the first time as well. It's such a beautiful river. The temps were hovering around freezing and we were surrounded by snow capped peaks and occasional flurries. Nathaniel, a guy Jill works with, wanted to trade trips; a day on the Yellowstone for a day on the Missouri so I said sure. We really had a blast. We hunted ducks in the morning on the East Gallatin and then a short float on the Yelly in the afternoon stripping streamers. We caught about 15 trout and a few whities. Some really good trout too. Find slow deep water and get something leggy to crawl along the bottom. Fish will eat.

Well, the bird hunting is about to end soon so I guess I should start preparing for a cold dark winter here in Wolf Creek again. It's too bad I hate hang-overs so much. Maybe I should think about road tripping...

Keep 'em where they live...